Son of Revan
by Goku Revan
Summary: Story will cover most of all four seasons. Updates at random. Episodes without Sabine or give her very little screen time will be skipped, except for a certain few. Disney owns Star Wars.
1. Spark of the Rebellion

**First chapter of the sequel to my previous fanfic: The Descendant of Revan (Even though it's technically incomplete because Disney's now releasing a season 7 of The Clone Wars) First things first. If you haven't read the fanfic in the top sentence, I suggest doing so. Otherwise the title will sound misleading and certain things won't make sense. One other thing: Unlike the fanfic mentioned above this one will not be split into separate seasons just like the description said, which means it could take ****_years _****before this is completed. It took me roughly 4 years to complete all five books of my previous fanfic.**

"Are you certain we should hire him?" Hera Syndula, captain of the _Ghost_ asked the hologram of rebel informant Fulcrum. "_Yes. He is someone you want, but do not mention me. Things between us are... tense at the moment._" they replied. "I won't, thank you, Fulcrum." she replied before the transmission ended and she walked back to the cockpit where Kanan Jarrus, Jedi-in-hiding sat at the co-pilot seat. "So, did they say where this guy is?" he asked as she sat and punched in the coordinates. "Yes, Tatooine. Mos Espa spaceport." she replied before they jumped into hyperspace. "Way in the Outer Rim... I wonder why..." he trailed off.

"Fulcrum says things are tense between them right now, so whatever you do, don't mention their name." Hera replied, earning a nod from him. "Did you get his name?" he asked a few seconds later. "Yes and he'll be wearing Mandalorian armor." she replied. "A Mandalorian?" a voice asked from the doorway as a female mandalorian walked in. Sabine Wren sat in the chair behind Kanan and took her helmet off before placing it on the ground beside her. "Yes, Fulcrum says we may need him just in case." Hera replied as the teen nodded, curious to see another mandalorian after so long.

The ship exited hyperspace just above the sand-covered planet before descending to the planet and landing just outside of Mos Espa. Hera, Kanan and Sabine exited the ship and made their way into the spaceport settlement. The three entered the nearest bar and looked around, noticing all sorts of different aliens drinking at partying.

"There." Sabine said, pointing at the table where a man in Mandalorian armor sat shuffling cards. The three walked over to his table and sat in the three chairs across from him. A few seconds went by before he spoke while still shuffling. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, we were wondering... are you Anakin?" Hera asked as he continued shuffling. "Do I owe you money?" he asked. Hera shared a look with her friends. "No." she replied.

"Then Anakin I be." he said, taking off his helmet after setting the cards down. Sabine blushed and was glad she still had her helmet on.

"I assume your here to hire me. In that case a hundred creds a mission for as long as you want me. Anything not job related is an extra hundred per job. You can pay me at the end of each month. Miss three payments or attempt to backstab me and I'll sell you out to the Empire. They've put a price on rebels. I know Fulcrum told you to hire me because you used my name not my title: The Merc With No Fear. That sum everything up?" he said, shuffling the cards with a bored look on his face while the three stared at him with jaws dropped at how quickly he figured that out and how casually he said it all.

Anakin drank the Jawa juice that was just set on the table in one swig before standing up, slipping the card deck into one of his belt's pockets then slipped his helmet on. "So where we headed?" he asked the three still surprised rebels.

The young man met and spoke with other two _Ghost _crew Garazeb Orrelios or Zeb for short, one of the few Lasat still alive after the massacre of his people and C1-10P or Chopper, a rude and cranky old C1-series astromech droid. _'He's like the opposite of Katie.' _Anakin entered the cockpit just as the ship exited hyperspace above Lothal.

"Another planet on the ass-end of nowhere." he mumbled to himself as they entered the atmosphere and landed in the grass plains far outside the capital. "So what's the job?" Anakin asked as he and the others, minus Hera and Chopper, walked down the ship's ramp.

"Two jobs actually. This one is stealing blasters from the imperials and the other is getting the location of some Wookie prisoners." Sabine explained. "All right." he replied.

Now in the Capital the rebels and merc waited patiently as Kanan and Zeb over to Anakin and Sabine. _'First I sensed Kanan when he arrived on Tatooine, now I'm sensing someone nearby here on Lothal.' _Kanan patted his leg when he stopped near the two teens, signalling them before Sabine did the same.

The young woman walked over to a speeder bike a casually tossed a thermal detonator on it as she turned to start walking back towards the others.

An AT-DP trooper noticed the beeping and turned around to stop Sabine before the bike exploded, killing the trooper. "Get those crates out of here! Keep them secure at all costs!" one of the three Imperial Officers ordered the other AT-DP troopers who quickly mounted the bikes with crates attached before taking off.

Anakin and Sabine made their way onto the rooftops before seeing some kid on one of the bikes about to zoom bye. Sabine suddenly jumped off the roof and landed perfectly on one of the crates. _'Impressive.__'_

After picking Kanan up they made their way in the direction the kid went and picked him up after Hera had blasted the TIE chasing him out of the sky. "Whoa! Do you have any idea what these are worth on the black market?" the kid asked in awe as he looked in the open crate filled with E-11 blaster rifles. "I do, actually." Kanan said.

"Don't get any ideas." Zeb warned. "They're mine." he protested as Zeb took the blaster out of his and put it back in the crate.

"If you hadn't gotten in our way-" the Lasat started before the kid interrupted him. "Too bad. I got to them first." he said. "It's not who's first. It's who's last." Kanan said. "What the hell does he mean?" Anakin whispered to Sabine. "Don't ask me. I still haven't figured him out." she whispered the reply.

"Keep an eye on our friend here." Kanan said before starting to climb the ladder. "Is babysitting part of this job?" the merc asked as Kanan was halfway up the ladder before sighing. "I'll add an extra hundred." the older man said before continuing up.

A few minutes later the kid was now sitting on one of the crates as the rebels and merc continued watching. "Look, I was just doing the same thing you were: stealing to survive-" the kid started before Zeb cut him off. "You have no idea what we were doing. You don't know us." Zeb snapped.

"And I don't want to. I just want off this burner." Ezra countered. "And I would like you to shut up. I'm being paid to watch you not hear you whine." Anakin said, which promptly shut the kid up, much to Zeb's amusement.

A blast from a TIE suddenly rocked the ship causing all but Anakin to fall over. "Get off! I… can't… breathe." the kid groaned seeing as how Zeb had fallen right on him. "I'm not that heavy in this gravity." Zeb defended as he pushed off and stood up while Anakin help Sabine up.

"How did you not fall over?" she asked. "I've trained for this sorta thing." he replied with a small shrug. "Not the weight. The smell." the kid said groaning in disgust as he tried waving the supposed stench away.

"You don't like the air quality in here, eh? Fine. I'll give you your own room." Zeb replied before picking him up and tossing him into a small closet in the common room.

"_Zeb, Sabine, Anakin? Where's the kid?_" Kanan asked over the ship's com. "Calm down, chief. He's in- uh, here." the Lasat trailed off after opening the closet and seeing that the kid wasn't there anymore as they noticed the grate on the air vent inside was open.

"And there goes my extra hundred creds." the merc sighed. "_Zeb, where is he?_" Kanan asked him. "Well, he is still in the ship." he replied. "Oh, he's _in_ the ship, all right." Sabine said as they heard him crawling through the air vent above them.

A few minutes later they found the kid sitting in the cargo bay turret and Sabine grabbed his shoulder before tossing him out of the seat.

Anakin blushed and felt his mouth dry when he face for the first time. _'Spirits... she's beautiful... This must be how dad felt when he met mom...' _Anakin wondered as Sabine put her helmet on the top of the seat before sitting in it and taking shots at the TIE fighters.

"My name's Ezra. What's yours?" the kid now known as Ezra attempted to flirt with her, earning a brow raise and look from Anakin that said 'Really?'. _'Normally if someone flirted with a girl I liked I'd feel jealous and be worried they'd would win her heart before I had chance. But I don't have anything to worry about, judging by the annoyance I'm sensing from her.'_

Zeb suddenly grabbed Ezra who had been standing beside the merc. "My name's Zeb, you Loth-rat." he growled. "_Calculations complete, but we need an opening._" Hera's voice sounded over the ship's com. "Found one." Sabine said, blasting a TIE to pieces.

"_Entering hyperspace._" Hera said before the blue swirling of hyperspace suddenly surrounded them.

"So just drop me and my blasters outside Capital City and-" Sabine cut Ezra off as the door opened while Anakin and Kanan stood behind her after the ship exited hyperspace back near Lothal. "They're not _your _blasters." she interrupted. "And we're not going back to Capital City. The job's not done."

Kanan said before the ship entered the atmosphere and Hera landed it on a grassy hill. The group minus Chopper exited the ship with different marked crates. "Hey, where are they going?" Ezra asked as Kanan and Hera walked off in a different direction.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you. Oh, and I might just kill you anyway." Zeb said as he pushed two crates towards the small town.

"Grab a crate, pull your weight." Sabine said to Ezra as she passed him while pushing a crate and following Zeb. Anakin reluctantly trailing behind her. Ezra caught up while pushing a crate just as they reached the town. "Lived on Lothal my whole life. Never been here." he said as the four made their way through the small town.

"The Imperials don't advertise it." Sabine said. "Locals call it Tarkintown." Zeb told him. "Named for Grand Moff Tarkin, Governor of the Outer Rim. He kicked these folks off their farms when the Empire wanted their land." the mandalorian girl explained. "Anybody who tried to fight back got arrested, for treason." the Lasat said.

"Who wants free grub!" Zeb called out as he, Ezra and Sabine opened the crates to reveal food before the local came over and each took some. Sabine's brow furrowed when she noticed Anakin was leaning against one of the makeshift homes far away from them and decided to ask why he wasn't helping.

As she got closer the young woman noticed his shoulders were tense and he fidgeting a bit before her expression changed to worry and a wave of concern washed over her now that she realized he was _very _uncomfortable.

"Hey..." she said softly while gently placing a hand on his shoulder. The merc jumped slightly at not having sensed her before relaxing a bit. "Oh. Hey Sabine." he said quietly. "What's wrong?" she asked before he sighed.

"It's just... I've only ever done one other relief mission in the past two years I've been a mercenary and it got uncomfortable very fast once the people we helped started practically worshipping us for helping them. And it reminded me of a story my dad told me about a mission he and my mom had during the Clone Wars that involved slavers and how it almost went horribly wrong with my mom enslaved and my dad forced to pretend working for them for the rest of his life. And how he also mentioned that some slave masters would force their slaves to worship them. I mean a little praise I don't mind but something that borders on worship or goes straight to it..." he trailed off with a shudder.

Sabine's eyes widened at how much detail he he'd gone into and felt concern for her new friend when he shuddered. Anakin returned the hug she suddenly pulled him into before separating a minute later. "You going to be okay?" she asked gently as he nodded.

"I actually feel a bit better now that I've got that off my chest." he replied, smiling behind his helmet and even though she couldn't see it the mandalorian girl returned it. "One other thing." he said before stepping close to her.

"You're quite beautiful, Sabine... Especially this caring side of yours..." he said softly, caressing her one cheek with his thumb before walking back towards the others and leaving her blushing there. The young woman smiled shyly and only had one thought run through her head: _'I think I'm in love...'_

Anakin quietly slurped on a bowl of noodles while Sabine drank a glass of water as the merc sensed Ezra walk into the kitchen. "Not too good at following directions, are you?" she asked the kid as the door closed. "Not so much. You?" he asked as she chuckled.

"Never been my specialty." she replied with a smirk. "Who are you people? I mean, you're not thieves exactly." he pointed out. "We're not exactly anything. We're a crew, a team, in some ways a family. Well except Anakin. We hired him for jobs like this." replied, gesturing to the other teen in the room.

"What happened to your real family?" Ezra asked her.

"The Empire. What happened to yours?" she replied. The door to the kitchen opened to reveal Zeb and Chopper before he could reply. "Kanan wants us in the common room. If he tries anything, sound the alarm. Or shoot him." Zeb said to the droid as he let out a complaining beep.

"Shush. Just watch him." Zeb ordered as Sabine grabbed her helmet and Anakin slipped his on before following Zeb. "Sabine. My name's Sabine." she said to the kid before following after the merc.

"We have a new mission. Vizago acquired the flight plan for an Imperial transport ship full of Wookiee prisoners." Kanan informed them after Zeb and the teens sat down while he and Hera remained standing. "Vizago? You trust that sleemo?" Anakin asked him. "You know him?" Sabine asked.

"Yeah. He hired me a few months before you guys did. Tried to talk his way out of paying, but a simple threat got me my well-earned credits." he replied.

"Most of these Wookiees were soldiers for the Old Republic." Hera said. "I owe those hairy beasts. They saved some of my people." the Lasat said. "Mine too." the Twi'lek said.

"If we're going to save them, we've got a tight window. They've been taken to an unknown slave labor camp. If we don't intercept this ship, we'll never find them. Now, I have a plan. But..." Kanan trailed off as they all turned their attention to the closet after hearing a loud bang come from inside. Kanan opened the door to Ezra right there, who promptly hit the ground from having been leaning against the door.

The kid let out a small groan of pain before standing up and trying to climb back into the air vent. Zeb quickly grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him out before tossing him to the ground in front of him and the others. "I ordered Chopper to keep watch." the Lasat growled as said droid entered the room letting out grumbling sounds.

Zeb growled threateningly at Ezra while punching a fist into his other hand. "Can we please get rid of him?" Zeb growled as he advanced on the kid before Sabine and Kanan held up one arm each to stop him. "No. We can't. The kid knows too much." Sabine said as Hera helped him up.

"We don't have time to take him home anyway. We need to move now. I'll keep an eye on him." she said before leading Ezra to the cockpit.

Anakin stood behind Zeb as the docking bay door was opened by the Imperials. "That thing's not a Wookiee." one stormtrooper said. "Haven't you ever seen a rare hairless Wookiee before?" Kanan asked them as Zeb tried to imitate a Wookiee growl.

The two stormtroopers looked at each other for second before looking back at the Lasat. "Oh, forget it." he said before punching both of them. "Told you they wouldn't buy it." he said as they stepped into the transport. "You didn't exactly give 'em a chance to buy it." the Mandalorian girl pointed out, blaster pistols ready.

"Ah. There's just something about the feel of their helmets on my fists." he replied with a chuckle. "Okay, you know the plan. Move out. No troopers. Security's soft." Kanan said as they they split up into two teams. Anakin, Sabine and Chopper on one and Kanan with Zeb on the other.

The teens and droid reached the freighter's control room and immediately worked on disabling the gravity. "Chopper, stop grumbling and work that gravity generator." Sabine told him as he grumbled. "I've got the backup ready. Anakin?" she asked as he pressed a few more buttons. "Ready." he replied.

"Now." she said as the droid turned of the gravity and they started floating. "Artificial gravity is down for two minutes." the Mandalorian girl said before the two teens placed detonators all over the room. Once done the two teens grabbed onto Chopper before he activated his thruster and propelled them out of the room.

Sabine started counting down once they neared the door where the ship was docked. "Five, four- get ready- Two, one." she said before they landed on the floor as the gravity turned back on. Anakin raised a brow when he noticed Ezra was right behind the two older men as they caught up to the droid and older teens.

"Where are the Wookiees?" she asked them. "No Wookiees. Sabine, man the nose gun. Chop, tell Hera to take off." Kanan ordered. "Uh... right." she replied, taken off guard by the sudden change of plan as they ran back onto their ship.

"_There. Airlock shut. We're out of here!_" Hera said over the ship's com before Sabine pressed the detonator controlling the bombs.

"The whole thing was a setup." Kanan sighed as he, Sabine and Anakin entered the cockpit after jumping to hyperspace. "You think Vizago was in on it?" she asked as they sat in the three unoccupied chairs.

"He'd sell his mother to Jawas for a couple credits. But we're a source of income for him. Even odds he didn't know. The kid did all right." Hera said as Zeb entered the cockpit. "He did okay. Where is he?" Kanan asked the Lasat. "I, uh, thought he was with you." he replied, sounding a bit nervous.

Anakin could sense a bit of guilt coming from him and did a small reading of his mind. _'So he left the kid when he was grabbed by an Imperial. Oh well, it's not like I was getting paid to protect him after all.' _

"Zeb, what did you do to him?" the Mandalorian girl asked, sounding a bit worried. "I didn't do anything to him. But that I.S.B. agent grabbed him." he replied. "What?" all but Anakin exclaimed. "The kid got grabbed, okay?" he said. "Garazeb Orrelios!" Hera scolded.

_'I know enough from my mother that when a woman uses your full name, you're in _deep _trouble.' _The merc quietly sunk further in his seat, hoping to not draw attention to himself. "Oh, come on! We were dumping him after the mission anyway. This saves us fuel. They'll go easy on him. He's just a kid." Zeb said, looking at the ground in guilt.

"No. No, no. No way! You cannot be serious!" Zeb protested after Hera suggested they rescue Ezra. "It's our fault he was there." Hera reminded. "Come on, Hera! We just met this kid. We're not going back for him!" he tried reasoning.

"They'll be waiting for us. We can't save him." Sabine said, siding with the Lasat before Chopper grumbled in binary. "What? What did he say?" Zeb asked. "He voted with me. That's two against two. Kanan?" the Twi'lek asked him before he nodded after a few seconds of thinking.

And instead asking the merc, she just tossed a gold credit ingot worth a hundred on his lap. The the teen just smiled behind his helmet as he picked it up.

Hera landed in the star destroyer's hanger bay before the group minus Chopper exited their ship. "Find Ezra. I'll be ready." Hera said as she remained on the ship's ramp while the others took off towards the hallway. Sabine stopped near some crates for a second and painted an orange starbird on the floor before catching up.

_'Seems like a weird time to vandalize the place.' _"Hold this bay till we get back." Kanan ordered the Lasat. "And this time, try not to leave until everyone's back aboard." the Mandalorian girl added, half joking half serious. "That was not my fault Zeb defended as he stopped.

"Well, that's debatable." Ezra's voice was heard from the air vent above before he dropped down inbetween them, wearing an Imperial cadet helmet. Zeb suddenly punched the kid which knocked him down in front of the older teens and Kanan before standing up and taking the helmet off.

"First you ditch me, then you hit me?" he asked, glaring at Zeb. "How was I supposed to know it was you? You were wearing a bucket!" he defended himself just before the I.S.B agent and three stormtroopers rounded the corner and opened fire.

"Spectre-1 to _Ghost _we're leaving." Kanan said to Hera over his com as the group ran back into the hanger. Anakin pulled the trigger on his DC-15A blaster rifle twice, scoring headshots with both before running up the ship's ramp and into the cargo hold as Sabine removed her helmet.

Once everyone was in and Hera took off, Kanan nodded to Sabine with a smirk on his face. The Mandalorian girl returned it and pressed the button on the detonator in her hand before they heard an explosion just outside the ship. "Explosive paint? That's pretty impressive." Anakin complimented with a smile.

"Thanks." she replied, returning his smile with a small blush on her face as the ship entered hyperspace.

"I know where they're really taking the wookies." Ezra said as Kanan, Chopper and the two older teens entered the cockpit. "Have you heard of the spice mines of Kessel?" the younger teen asked as everyone became silent for a moment.

"Slaves sent there last a few months, maybe a year." Sabine replied, breaking the silence as she turned in her seat to face him. "And for wookies, born in the forest, it's a death sentence." Hera said. "Then I guess we better go save 'em." Ezra replied with a small smile. "'We'?" Sabine asked, sounding a bit confused.

"Come this far. Might as well finish the job." he replied with a small shrug. "Setting course for Kessel." Hera said, typing in the coordinates.

Hera opened fire on the Imperials surrounding the wookies after exiting hyperspace near Kessel and descending to the planet. Kanan, Zeb and the teens stood near the ramp and waited until the ship lowered just a few feet from the ground before Kanan opened the ramp to show stormtroopers opening fire on them.

The group quickly jumped off the ramp and took cover by the crates between them and the Imperials. The two in Mandalorian armor managed to kill one each as Kanan and Zeb moved over to a different set of crates. The group watched as the Wookies quickly overpowered the troopers from behind after Ezra snuck around and freed them.

The rebels and merc stood up and walked around the crates as the wookies walked up to them before the front two moved out the way to reveal Ezra in the middle with a smirk on his face. Kanan returned it before they all turned their attention to sudden sound of TIEs coming from behind them before they opened fire on the _Ghost_.

A moment later the ship blew one of the TIEs out of the sky before an Imperial transport rose up from the side of the cliff behind them. The group and wookies quickly dived out of the way as it opened fire on them.

The two TIEs started pursuing the _G__host_, forcing Hera took take off as the transport landed. The ramp lowered to show the I.S.B agent from earlier with a squad of troopers behind him. "Take them down!" he ordered as the troops opened fire. The _Ghost _crew quickly moved back towards the crates.

"_I can't maintain position!_" Hera said over Kanan's com as the group and wookies took cover. "Go! Lead the TIEs away and give yourself maneuvering room!" he ordered. "_I am not leaving you behind!_" she replied. "No, you're not. We're running a 22-Pickup." he said.

"Seriously?" Sabine asked, wondering if was joking. "You have a better option?" he asked. "Jump into the pit and get it over with?" Zeb retorted. "_All right, I'll be back. Make sure you're ready._" Hera replied.

"22-Pickup? Care to let me in on the secret?" Ezra asked. "I second that." Anakin said after shooting another trooper. "I'm about to let _everyone_ in on the secret." Kanan replied before stepping onto the crate then hopping down before walking towards the Imperials.

The agent gestured for his troops to cease fire before Kanan pulled two thing off his belt and connected them as he stopped walking. Anakin's eyes widened as he saw employer activate a blue bladed lightsaber and take a defensive stance before frowning at the now revealed Jedi.

_'A Jedi? Great... And here I was hoping he was only Force-sensitive. The money from this point on better be worth it if I'm going to have to put up with Jedi everyday.' _Anakin shared his father's negative opinion of the Jedi after he'd told him how they had practically betrayed the merc's mother.

"All troopers, focus your fire on... on the Jedi." the agent ordered, taken off guard by the sudden appearance of a Jedi. The troopers opened fire just as ordered and Kanan started deflecting any shots that came near him, even managing to deflect a bolt back at one troop, killing them.

"Time to go!" Kanan ordered. "Right. Everyone into the container!" Zeb yelled as the large group quickly ran to the large container ten feet behind them.

Anakin and the rebels covered the wookies as they all entered the container. "Zeb, Hera's incoming!" he exclaimed while continueing to deflect bolts. "Get in, you furballs, now!" Zeb urged. "He's one to talk." Anakin joked, earning a chuckle from Sabine as they kept shooting at the Imperials.

Everybody else entered the container and Zeb closed the door right before it shook slightly. "_Magnetic seal locked._" Hera said over their coms. "I hate this part." Zeb grumbled.

The merc, rebels and wookies stood in the cargo hold just before Kanan, Ezra and a young wookie entered. One of the wookies growled when he noticed the young one and said wookie climbed down the ladder before they hugged.

Kanan descended the ladder and stopped when he noticed Anakin had his hand out before groaning and reluctantly dropping a hundred cred gold ingot into the teen's hand.

"Uh, he says if we ever need help, the Wookies will be there." Sabine translated the wookie leader's growl as they stood near the docking port where a wookie ship was docked. The leader growled again before giving Ezra's head a friendly rub as the younger teen chuckled.

"Good luck, Kitwarr. Try to stay out of trouble." Ezra said to the younger wookie with a smile as he got a happy growl in reply before both wookies waved goodbye and entered their ship. "Look who's talking." Zeb joked.

"So... I guess you drop me off next." Ezra asked, sounding like he didn't actually want to leave as the Lasat closed the docking port door. "Uh, yeah. Finally right?" he asked, chuckling lightly. "Right." he replied quietly while walking back towards the cargo bay.

The _Ghost _landed a few kilometres from Ezra's 'home', which happened to be an old comm tower. Chopper warbled a bit as Sabine worked on him, while Zeb was checking a crate and Anakin was doing small tricks with his two ingots.

_'I love money... I love taking things...' _he sang in his head as Ezra came down the ladder and walked up to Zeb before sighing. "So, uh... see you around?" he asked. "Not if we see you first." Zeb replied with a chuckle as he gave what he apparently considered a friendly punch on the shoulder.

Judging by Ezra's reaction, he didn't see it that way. The younger teen rubbed his shoulder from the slight pain. "Don't worry. You won't." he replied before starting to walk down the ramp while Zeb made a gesture as if to say 'What I'd do?'.

Anakin walked to the kitchen and re-heated the noodles he didn't get a chance to finish earlier as he sensed Ezra enter the ship and make his way towards Kanan.

_'It would appear that he's joining us. I don't mind as long as still get paid.' _the merc finished the bowl and set it into the sink as he made his way to his temporary room he shared with Sabine before suddenly stopping as he sensed a dark chill. _'Shit... That did _not _feel good...' _the teen looked over his shoulder for a second before entering their room.

**All right! First chapter done. Next one should be up soon. And I know I wrote this at the top but I'm going to write it again to get point across: T****he title will sound misleading and certain things won't make sense unless you read most or all of the five episodes of The Descendant of Revan.**


	2. Droids in Distress

**Chapter 2.**

"_I don't have a shot!_" Kanan warned as they were being chased through space by a star destroyer and four TIEs after a botched heist. "Chopper, do you have the coordinates?" Hera asked him as everyone was in the cockpit besides the Jedi before the droid warbled something. "What did he say?" Zeb asked. "He said, 'Hello, hyperspace.'" she replied. "That's not what he said." the Lasat replied, sounding skeptical as they entered hyperspace. Anakin frowned in annoyance as he thought about the failed heist. _'I really should start charging for failed jobs.' _

"Told you we'd get away." Kanan said after entering the cockpit. "With the shipment. You said we'd get away with the shipment." Sabine reminded, sounding annoyed. "Kanan, we're low on everything." Hera said. "Food." Ezra said right before Anakin's stomach growled. "Explosives." Sabine added. "Fuel. We need to make some money, or we might as well put the _Ghost_ in storage." the Twi'lek said. "There's always Vizago's job." the Jedi said before Anakin clasped him on the shoulder. "I second that. In fact, you get me three months of noodles and I won't charge you money for three months." the teen said before leaning against he wall again.

"So we're arms dealers again?" the Lasat asked, not sounding pleased at the idea. "More like arms redistributors." he replied. "Come on. We don't even know what kind of weapons we're talking about here." Zeb argued. "Hey, if it puts food on the table and frees up some time for oh, I don't know Jedi training, then I'm in." Ezra said with a smile as Kanan walked up between him and Hera. "That's two. You game?" he asked her. "Say I am. What then?" she asked, arms folded. "I already know the mission. Let's head to the spaceport." he replied. "Halle-fricken-lujah." Anakin said simply.

Now at the spaceport in Capital city the merc and rebels minus Hera boarded Star Commuter shuttle ST-45. As part of the plan Chopper warbled after entering the shuttle. "How rude." Zeb pretended to sound offended as he sat behind the two in Mandalorian armor before Ezra smacked the droid then sat across from them on the other side of the shuttle. "This way, Mr. Wabo. We have seats in the front." Maketh Tua, Imperial minister of Lothal said as she and her associate, Wabo entered the shuttle and sat down in the seats just in front of the two older teens. _'It's to bad she an Imperial, the woman's quite beautiful.'_ the Aqualish man said something in his language before the minister sighed in frustration.

"Where is that translator?" she wondered aloud before Anakin's eyes widened an he froze upon hearing the translator's voice. "Coming, minister. Come along, Artoo." C-3PO said to his counterpart, R2-D2 as they entered the shuttle and the astromech beeped. Anakin quickly turned his head towards Sabine so that his face was hidden from the droids, much to the girl's confusion. _'Shit! __Shit! Shit! If Threepio sees my face the stupid droid will start blabbing everything about me!' _"What's wrong?" she whispered.

"They're Imperial droids, you can never be too careful." he lied quickly in a whisper. The Mandalorian girl raised a brow, but seemed to believe him. "_Final call for Star Commuter shuttle ST-45. Bound for Garel._" the dispatcher said over the loudspeakers outside just as Kanan hopped into the shuttle. As he walked down the aisle, Chopper picked on Ezra a bit. "Sentients, please prepare for takeoff." the RX-24 droid pilot said as Artoo beeped and whistled.

After the ship entered hyperspace Wabo started to speak to Tua again. "Amda Wabo is most honoured you are joining him on Garel, Minister Tua." Threepio translated. "And, uh, if I might add a personal note-" he tried to add before being cut off as Ezra and Chopper staged a small fight. "Will you cut it out! You have plenty of room! Stop crowding me. Ow!" Ezra complained as the droid zapped him twice and he fell down before Kanan stood from his seat behind the younger teen. "Kid, how 'bout you get that rust bucket under control?" the Jedi pretended to complain before Chopper warbled at him. "Mind your own business!" Ezra pretended to snap back before Chopper zapped him again. The whole time they went back and forth, Anakin was trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

"Hey, pilot. Isn't there some rule against droids in the passenger area?" Kanan pretended to complain to the droid pilot. "I am sorry, sir. Your astromech must proceed to the back of the craft." the pilot said. "Hey, if my astromech's banished, then those two astromechs are banished too!" Ezra said as he pointed to Artoo and Threepio. "Astromech? Me? I have never been so insulted!" the protocol droid said, sounding... well... insulted. "I'll have you know that I am a protocol droid, fluent in over six million forms-" Threepio started before Tua cut him off.

"Pilot, these two droids are with me, and I am on Imperial business." she explained to the pilot droid. "Sorry, ma'am, but these are Imperial regulations." the pilot apologized. "But, minister-" the protocol droid started to protest before she cut him off. "I can't risk an incident spoiling these negotiations. Go!" she ordered. "Oh, this is so humiliating." Threepio complained as he and Artoo made their way to the back of the shuttle.

Unfortunately for Tua, Wabo started to speak again and unlike before she had no translator this time, allowing the _Ghost _crew to continue their plan. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wabo. I- I don't understand you." she apologized. "Excuse me. I couldn't help noticing your predicament. If it's of any help, my girlfriend here is quite fluent." Anakin said to Tua and gesturing to Sabine. "Oh, I would never presume. Though it would be good practice for my level 5 exams at the Imperial Academy... No, no. But I couldn't." she pretended to humbly refuse. _'Laid it on a little thick at the beginning there, but I think the minister will still fall for it.' _

"You're a level 5 academy student? I was too, once upon a time." Tua said with a smile as she sounded impressed by Sabine. "Now, please ask Mr. Wabo where the shipment is being held." she said to the Mandalorian girl who nodded before speaking to him and getting to reply. "He said bay 17." the girl lied smoothly with a grin. "Sentients, we are approaching Garel. Please prepare for landing." the pilot informed them before the ship exited hyperspace near the planet.

"My dear, you did great service to your Empire today. Now focus on those level fives." the minister instructed Sabine as everyone got off the shuttle after it landed. "Oh, I will, minister. It's been such an honour. Thank you." the girl replied, going overboard with her pretending. "You just overdid it." Anakin said he shoved her forward a bit before she shrugged as if to say 'What?'.

Kanan quickly caught up with them before they watched Tua, Wabo and a group of stormtrooper head off in the wrong direction. "Bay 7." Sabine said quietly while the two older teens put their helmets on. "_Kanan, I thought you were going to teach me Jedi stuff. So far, all I'm doing is thieving, And I already knew how to do that._" Ezra complained over Kanan's com as he made his way to bay 7 through the air vents while the others made their way there on foot. "Just get to bay 7, open the door, and we all get paid." he replied simply. "_So we steal to stay alive. See? Told you I already knew this._" the kid grumbled as the others reached the blast door.

"_Okay. I'm in bay 7._" he said a minute later before the door suddenly opened and Zeb clapped sarcastically. "Well, kid, you pulled it off." he complimented patronizingly. "Was there ever any doubt?" Ezra asked with a smirk. "Yes." the other four agreed simultaneously before Kanan went to open another blast door and the other went to check the crates. Once Zeb opened one of the crates he gasped and suddenly stumbled back in panic before Kanan steadied him. "Karabast..." the Lasat said quietly as tried calming down while Sabine picked one of the rifles up. "Whoa. They're T-7 ion disruptors. These were banned by the Senate. You can short-circuit an entire ship with these." she said in awe. "Cool." Anakin agreed as he picked one up. _'Dad'll want one of these for sure.' _

"That's not why they were banned." Zeb said sadly as Sabine handed the one she was holding to Kanan before he put it back inside the crate then made of move to grab Anakin's who quickly stopped him. "Ah, ah. I'm keep this one and you keep the hundred creds for the fourth month." he said. The Jedi hesitated then nodded before putting the lid back on top the crate. _'Good thing I have an extra rifle belt.' _the merc attached the belt to the blaster before slinging it over his shoulder. "Get 'em aboard before company comes." Kanan ordered.

The group moved as quickly as they could to get all crates aboard the ship. "Hurry! We're running out of-!" Kanan yelled before getting cut off by Ezra. "Times up!" he exclaimed as Tua, Wabo and the squad of stormtroopers just about reached bay 7. "Hands up." the commander ordered Zeb and Ezra before the Lasat surprisingly raised his arms and towards them as Anakin and Kanan stood near Sabine and her crate. After about thirty seconds, Kanan gestured for the two older teen to get the crate on board as he got his blaster ready before running towards Ezra.

Anakin and Sabine helped Ezra with the last crate before Chopper and surprisingly, Artoo and Threepio came aboard followed by Kanan and Zeb a few seconds later just before Hera started taking off. "Oh, look, Chopper made friends." the Mandalorian girl said sarcastically, gesturing to the other two droids a Chopper groaned. "I am C-3PO, and this is my counterpart, R2-D2. I was translating for Minister Tua when we were attacked by thieves like, uh you..." Threepio trailed off as Zeb and Kanan walked past. "We have company. Imperial droids." Kanan said after Zeb climbed the ladder and watched them. "Spectre-5, let's get a couple restraining bolts on these two." the Jedi said to Sabine. "Yup. On it." she replied before climbing the ladder. Anakin climbed up next before heading out of the cargo bay and towards the kitchen, hoping to scrounge up something to eat.

"Can we discuss this later?" Kanan asked Hera as the the two descended the latter into the cargo hold where the merc, rebels and droids were waiting. "That's fine, love. But we _will _discuss it." she replied, leaving no room for argument as Kanan sighed. "You know what they're talking about." Anakin whispered to Zeb. "No idea." he whispered back before Artoo beeped. "Oh, right. This R2 says its real mission was to make sure the T-7s never reached the Empire, and that his master will pay handsomely for their return." Sabine translated. "I can vouch for their master, I've met him a few times." Anakin said. Kanan looked at him then droids for a few seconds. "I'll think about it." he replied. "So, we're not selling the droids, but we're selling the T-7s? We don't even know who Vizago's buyer is." Zeb argued.

"We know it's not the Empire, and I already made a deal with Vizago. So let's get these crates off the boat." Kanan. "Maybe it _is _the Empire. Hell, for all we know Vizago may have been two-timing us the entire time." the merc said as he moved a crate outside. "Exactly." Zeb said, gesturing to the teen. "I don't think Vizago could play both sides without the Empire finding out." Hera pointed out as she did the same.

Vizago picked one of the blasters up after the crew delivered all the crates to the rendezvous place. "Oh. I can make some beautiful music with these." he said, inspecting the blaster. "They're not that kind of instruments!" Zeb growled as he leaned against some different crates the crime lord owned. "You just have to know how to play them. And how to play those who want to buy them." he replied. "You have to buy 'em from us first." Anakin said, casually relaxing against one of Vizago's speeders. "If there's one person on your crew who knows business, it's The Merc With No Fear." the crime lord replied while smirking at Kanan. "Let's just get this over with." he said as Vizago's droids started moving some of the crates onto the speeders before they heard a ship approaching.

"What is this? You were followed!" the crime lord accused before rushing towards his speeder. "That's not possible." Hera protested. "Tell it to the Empire! Leave the rest. We're gone!" he ordered his droids before Kanan grabbed his arm to stop him from fully getting on his one speeder. "You haven't paid us." Kanan protested as Vizago freed his arm. "Cikatro Vizago doesn't pay for half a shipment. And he doesn't pay for trouble with Imperials. My friends, I hope you live to bargain another day. And if you don't eh." the crime lord replied casually as he climbed fully onto the speeder before both took off, while waving goodbye with the rifle.

"Shouldn't we be going to?" Sabine asked as the Imperial ship got closer. "We can't let these disruptors fall into Imperial hands. Sabine, Anakin, destroy the guns." Kanan ordered. "Ha. Now you're speaking my language. I'll go get my gear." she replied as the other teen followed. Both stopped as the three droids suddenly appeared and made their way over to one of the crates. "R2-D2 stop! What are you doing?" Threepio questioned before Artoo beeped a reply. "Joining the crew?" the protocol droid asked, sounding confused. Sabine removed her helmet as Artoo beeped and whistled while picking a disruptor up for a few seconds then putting it back.

"Of course. Overload the disruptors, and boom! Good call, little guy. You can join our crew anytime." Sabine complimented the astromech with a smile and pat on the dome. "Well short my circuits..." Threepio trailed off in bafflement. "Hera, Anakin, help Sabine open the crates. Zeb, Ezra, line 'em up. Meanwhile I'll deal with the walkers." he ordered before taking the disruptor Anakin offered.

The merc and Hera helped Sabine just as ordered when he heard a thud from the distance and saw the ship drop off two AT-DPs. Kanan shot the first one that reached them, disabling it instantly and causing it to crash. The other one blasted the ground in front of him, knocking the Jedi off his feet before he could get a shot on it. Anakin quickly summoned it with the Force when he sensed no one was paying attention to him before helping Sabine rig the remaining disruptors.

"Okay, we're ready." Sabine said after she, Anakin and Artoo finished. Kanan, Anakin and Ezra pushed one set of disruptors towards the stormtroopers. "Okay, push." the girl ordered as she, Threepio and Artoo pushed the other towards the walker. A few seconds later both exploded, destroying the walker and killing the troopers while the ground shook from the explosions.

The group turned their attention towards Zeb when they heard him cry out in pain and saw the Lasat on his knees as the I.S.B agent raised his own bo-rifle, ready to kill him. "No!" Ezra yelled as he thrust his hands out and Force-pushed the agent away, saving Zeb's life. Kanan looked at Ezra with surprise for a moment. "Spectre-2 get the kid aboard." he ordered Hera, before running over to Zeb. "Move, all of you, now!" she ordered pulling Ezra as the two in Mandalorian armor helped the droids stand before running towards the ship.

"Will he be okay?" Sabine asked, concerned for Zeb as he groaned in pain after they made it back onto the ship. "Yeah." he replied weakly as Kanan helped him up. "Thank's mate. Appreciate the save." he thanked Kanan. "Wasn't me. It was Ezra." he replied with a smile while gesturing to the kid with a nod. Ezra and Zeb nodded to each other. "And Ezra, your formal Jedi training starts tomorrow." Kanan said as the kid smiled and Artoo beeped. "Yay, Zeb's saved and Ezra going to be trained. Can we get some fricken food now, please?" Anakin asked before they all chuckled. The merc chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm not joking..." he said.

**Chapter 2 done.**


	3. Rise of the Old Masters

**Chapter 3. Three chapters in and I'm already starting to miss writing The Clone Wars opening narration.**

Anakin walked into the common room behind the others before sitting down beside Sabine as she turned the HoloNet on. "_The stolen TIE fighter was later used to attack a transport full of innocent workers._" the Imperial reporter announced. "You liar! We set 'em free." Zeb growled before the transmission cut off and the hologram was replaced by a picture of an older man. "_Citizens, this is Senator-in-exile Gall Trayvis. I bring more news the Empire doesn't want you to hear._" the senator's voice said.

"What's a Gall Trayvis?" Ezra asked. "The only member of the Imperial Senate with the courage to speak out publicly against the Empire." Hera replied as Trayvis' broadcast continued. "_One of the Republic's greatest peacekeepers, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, is alive. She has been imprisoned unlawfully somewhere in the Stygeon system. As citizens, we demand the Emperor produce Master Unduli and grant her a fair trial before the entire Sen-_" he explained before being cut off.

"_Marking another successful planetary liberation utilizing the Base Delta Zero initiative._" the reporter said when the broadcast changed back to the HoloNet before Sabine turned it off. _'Luminara's alive? Oh man, dad's gonna be so happy when I tell him! Though I suppose we have to rescue her first.' _"This Luminara. You knew her?" Ezra asked his master. "I met her. Once. She was a great Jedi Master brave, compassionate, disciplined. In fact, she'd make an excellent teacher for you. There've always been rumors she survived the Clone Wars, but they never came with a specific location before. We can't pass this up." he replied.

"Was hoping you'd say that. I'll set course for the Stygeon system." Hera said before haeding back to the cockpit. "The rest The rest of you, prep for an op." he ordered before following her as the others left to get ready. Anakin slipped his DC-15S blaster carbine over his shoulder and his two DC-17 blaster pistols as back-up weapons just in case before heading to the cockpit.

Now that everyone was in the cockpit, Chopper brought up a hologram of the Spire on Stygeon Prime. "Welcome to the Spire on Stygeon Prime, the only Imperial detainment facility in the Stygeon system. And it's impregnable." the Mandalorian girl explained. "That's never stopped us before." Kanan reminded before she let out a short chuckle. "Trust me, we have never faced anything like this. It's a real work of art. Blast proof, ray shielded, protected by anti-ship weapons, TIE fighters and short and long range scanners." she replied, counting each one off with her fingers. "We can fool the scanners." Hera said. "Eh, maybe. But that just leaves an army of troopers and guard posts on all the walls. Look, even if we get into this beauty, the hard part's getting out. 'Cause, you know, it's a prison." the girl replied, while stating the obvious.

"What about going in low and sneaking onto this landing platform?" Ezra asked, pointing to it before she shook her head. "Mm-mmm. Platform has a heavy trooper presence and reinforced blast doors. Impossible to get in or out that way." she replied. "Here. There's only room for a couple guards. We take them down, make our way to the upper level isolation cells, free Luminara and come back out the way we came in." Kanan as he trailed his finger along the hologram before Chopper shut the it down and warbled. "Yeah. You'd have to be crazy to try that lousy plan." Sabine said in agreement. "Let's hope the Empire thinks so too." the Jedi replied with a smirk before the ship exited hyperspace.

Everyone but Chopper were now in the _Phantom _ready to take off just as said droid warbled something over Zeb's com. "Oh, I'm sorry, Chop. We just don't need your damaged logic circuits on this one." he said in mock apology before cutting off as the shuttle disengaged from the ship and Hera piloted it towards the Spire. "Thirty seconds. Good luck." she said as they neared the prison and Sabine put her helmet on. "Luck? We're gonna need a miracle." Zeb replied. "Here are three." girl said, offering three thermal detonators. Zeb taking two and Ezra taking one. "Try to stay focused." Kanan told him. "Thought there was no 'try'." Ezra replied with a smirk.

As they got near the platform Kanan opened the shuttle's door before jumping out. "Kid, wait! What are you doing?!" Zeb exclaimed in surprise while trying to grab him before he suddenly jumped out after the older Jedi. A few second later the other three jumped onto the platform just after Kanan Force-pulled two blasters away from their owners and tossed them over the side. Sabine twisted the arm of one trooper who still had his blaster before Anakin kicked him over the railing whlie Kanan Force-pushed both disarmed troopers over the railing and Zeb grabbed the other armed trooper and tossed him over the side last.

"Stunts like that put us all in jeopardy. That is exactly why you need Master Luminara to teach you discipline." the older Jedi chastised. "I was just following you example." Ezra defended himself. "Yeah? Well, try to stay focused and follow the plan instead." he replied, leaving no room for argument as Sabine tried opening the door. "I hate to interrupt, but we need the kid to unlock the door." she said after it wouldn't open. "I got it." the kid assured before running up to the door and using his R-series manipulator to unlock it while Zeb tried to get the unconscious troopers to lean against the wall on either side of the door. "Ezra." Kanan said, sounding impatient as he narrowly avoided a searchlight. "Quiet. I'm focusing." Ezra replied with a smirk before the door finally opened and they made their way inside.

"Luminara's here. I sense her presence, but it's clouded." Kanan said before Sabine checked a small computer. _'I sense it too.' _Anakin's brow furrowed as he looked at the ground. "Where's Master Unduli?" the older Jedi asked her. "Detention block CC-01. Isolation cell 0169." Anakin replied to their surprise. "How did you know that?" Sabine asked and rolled her eyes in annoyance when he only shrugged in reply. "They have isolation cells on the lower levels? We planned off outdated schematics." Kanan said after shaking his surprise off. "What does that mean?" Ezra asked. "It means the plan changes." he replied.

"You got a backup plan?" Zeb asked. "Figuring one out right now. You three, you're coming along." the older Jedi replied gesturing the two older teens and Lasat as he and the older teens stepped into the turbolift. "Weren't we supposed to hold our escape route here?" Zeb asked, referring to the part of the old plan. "Now the turbolift is our escape route. Let's go." he ordered before the Lasat and kid entered and he pressed a button on the panel.

"His plan gets worse all the time." Sabine. "It's not that bad, could be worse." Anakin spoke up with a shrug. "Just hope he doesn't change it again." Zeb said in agreement. "I'm standing right here." Kanan reminded while pointing to the ground. "We know." the three replied simultaneously. A moment later they reached the cell block and Kanan quickly pulled them in before them knocked them out. "Maintain comm silence. And whatever you do, hold this lift." Kanan ordered the other three as he and Ezra exited the lift. "Hey, you! Stop!" they heard a trooper order before seeing two of them unconscious land in front of the lift before Zeb and Anakin each grabbed one and dragged them in before the door closed.

After a few minutes of waiting Anakin shot off from leaning against the wall and looked around quickly. _'Who is __that I'm sensing...?' _his eyes widened behind his helmet when realized what it was. _'A Dark-sider! Hmm... I don't feel cold, so it's not Vader. Oh, thank the Force...' _the teen relaxed a bit after that. "What is it?" Sabine asked. "I just needed to stretch a bit." he lied before stretching his neck muscles a bit then leaning back against the wall before mentally sighing in relief when he sensed the other two had believed him.

"Spectre-5 to Spectre-1. Come in." Sabine asked Kanan over her helmet's com after some time had passed and the two Jedi still hadn't returned, only to hear static. "Thought so. They're jamming our signal. They know we're here." she said. "Here in this lift or-" Anakin started before she cut him off. "Here, period! They lured us in upstairs at the prison's weak point. We're expected to exit the same way, so you can bet there will be troopers waiting for us. We'd never make it out of the lift." she replied quickly.

"Alright! No need to get snippy." he replied, sounding annoyed. "So what do we do?" Zeb asked before Sabine could start an argument. "Well, time for a miracle." she replied, holding a thermal detonator in her hand. The three exited the lift before rigging it with a bomb then sent it back up to the higher levels. "That's one lift." Zeb said after they heard the explosion. "I've disabled the other two. There are other ways down, but it'll take 'em a while. Let's go." she said before they took off in the direction of Luminara's cell.

"Guys! This way!" Sabine yelled to Kanan and Ezra after seeing the two in the hallway across from them "You figured out it was a trap?" the older Jedi asked as they ran towards a landing platform. "Yeah. Luminara?" she asked. "Long gone. Our new exit?" he asked. Anakin barely kept from stumbling. _'Oh man... Dad's gonna be so heartbroken... He considered her the closest thing to a mother he ever had, especially in the last few months before the Jedi purge...'_ "Landing platform." the girl answered Kanan. "Thought it was impossible to get out that way." he said. "Well, let's hope the Empire thinks so too." she replied as they made a right.

"_Secure the facility. Full lockdown._" a voice said over the PA system. "Well, that's not helpful." Ezra said, sounding worried as they started having to jump through the holes of the blast doors closing. _'That's the Dark-sider I sensed? He doesn't seem very powerful.' _Sabine tried shooting him twice, only for both bolts to get deflected and fly past them. Zeb quickly jumped into the middle of the last blast door and managed to keep it open before the others got through.

Once in the hanger the Lasat shot the panel beside the normal door leading back into the prison before everyone made their way over to the hanger door. "I've got it. I-" Sabine started before the panel beeped and she groaned in frustration. "I'm locked out of the system. Ezra?" she asked before he tried, only to get a painful shock. "Sorry." he apologized, groaning in pain as Anakin helped him up. "Ezra. Together." Kanan said as he lead the kid over to the middle of the door. "Seriously?" he asked. "Yes. Picture the locking mechanism in your mind." the older Jedi replied before they both closed their eyes and held out a hand facing the door.

"Excuse me, but can we train Ezra later?!" Zeb asked sounding annoyed as the Dark-sider's blade pierced the door and started cutting through. _'What kind of pathetic lightsaber is that? All three of my dad's could cut through that door like a knife cuts through butter.' _Unfortunately their was a squad of stormtroopers on the other side who immediately opened fire on them after the Jedi managed to open the door.

"One last miracle!" Zeb said before tossing the last thermal detonator at the feet of two troopers while Anakin and Sabine returned fire. Once it exploded the group rushed towards the crates for cover, with Kanan deflecting bolts, Ezra shocking the occasional trooper and the three with blasters returning fire. Anakin gunned two down with ease before shaking his head. "Piss-ant armor." he scoffed, earning a snicker from Sabine and Zeb. "Spectre-5 to _Phantom_. We're on the landing deck, ready for pickup." Sabine said to Hera as she crouched behind a crate.

"_On my way, Spectre-5. And I'm bringing the fleet._" Hera replied. "We have a fleet?" Zeb asked, sounding confused. "_We do now._" she replied before the shuttle and some kind of flying creatures just as big flew in. One of the creatures knocked down two troopers as some focused their at them as the shuttle destroyed a TIE before Kanan signalled them to move. The group quickly ran towards the edge of the platform while Zeb destroyed a turret and the shuttle turned around and opened as it hovered near the edge. Hera quickly closed the back and took off towards the atmosphere. "Master Luminara?" Hera asked Kanan softly.

"Gone. We'll have to find a way to spread the word." he replied, his tone sounding down. "How's Ezra taking it?" she asked, keeping her tone soft. "Not as bad as I am. I guess he's stuck with me. For now." the older Jedi replied, his tone the same as well. _'I wish I could've met you Luminara. The way my dad spoke about you, always made it sound like you were nice person...'_ the merc closed his eyes and smiled softly when swore he heard a voice whisper.

_"Perhaps you __will, one day..."_

**Wow... another chapter complete so soon after the last, looks like I'm on a roll. Here's hoping I'll _stay _on it, but who knows. Anyway, next chapter should hopefully be up soon.**


	4. Breaking Ranks

**Chapter 4 is going to be a little short.**

Night had fallen on Capital City as Anakin, Zeb and Sabine waited about 30ft away from the Imperial Academy patiently for Chopper to signal if Ezra had passed the test in order to get an Imperial decoder they needed in order to find the location of a powerful Kyber crystal the crew hoped to destroy before the Empire could do something bad with it. _'Maybe I __should have instead.' _he thought before remembering his height. _'Oh yeah... guess I'm a little tall for a cadet.'_

"Spectre-5 to _Ghost_. Looks like the kid passed the first test. He's inside Imperial H.Q." Sabine said to Hera and Kanan after the droid signalled the girl and she walked over to her two friends. "_Roger, Spectre-5. Ghost standing by._" the captain replied. "I'm gonna go get some take-out, you guys want anything?" the merc asked. "Get me something crunchy." Zeb replied. "I'll take something spicy, but not over the top spicy." she replied before the other teen nodded and walked off.

The three finished off their small meal and continued waiting for Ezra when the Academy's large blast door suddenly closed, signalling it was closed off for the night. "Spectre-5 to _Ghost_. Something went wrong. The kid didn't get the device, and he didn't come out." Sabine said to Kanan and Hera as Anakin tossed the empty food boxes in the nearest trash bin. "_Copy that, Spectre-5. Give him one more day._" she replied.

Chopper suddenly rounded the corner where the small team was waiting and rolled up to them. "Did you get the decoder?" Zeb asked before Chopper warbled something and Sabine took it from one of his compartments. "Good. Where's Ezra?" Zeb asked. The droid warbled something again. "What? What do you mean he went back to the Academy?" she asked, sounding surprised before the droid played a pre-recorded hologram of the kid.

"_Guys, I know you're expecting me, but I have to stay at the Academy. There's this kid there, Jai Kell. And he'll get scooped up by the Inquisitor if I don't help him._" the recording said. "Wait. The Inquisitor? Is Ezra out of his-" Zeb started before the hologram cut him off. "_You probably think I've lost my mind. And you're probably right. But it's your fault. The old me never stuck his neck out for a stranger. Clearly, I've spent way too long with you heroes. Decode the hyperspace coordinates and get them to Spectre-1. Oh, and if you're not too busy, attack the Academy tomorrow at noon. I could use the diversion so I can get out of here. Spectre-6 out._" the recording said before Chopper turned it off and Sabine removed her helmet. "That kid is nuts." Anakin said as the Mandalorian and Lasat nodded in agreement.

"Spectre-5 to Ghost. Sending coordinates for Imperial jump route. If you leave now, you should still be able to intercept." Sabine told them after putting her helmet back on, and sending the coordinates with her wrist computer. "_Good work, Spectre-5, and you too, Spectre-6._" Kanan complimented. "What are we? Chopped liver?" Anakin asked, gesturing to him and Zeb. "Uh, Specter-6 isn't with us." she replied. Sabine turned her com off after getting static, signalling the ship was out of range.

The three moved quickly just as a walker got stuck under the blast door and while Zeb shot two of the troopers beside an Imperial Troop Transport from the roof of a building across the yard, the two teens climbed to the roof of a building on their side before jumping onto the Transport then off it, landing between the remaining two troops before each blasted one of them. Sabine walked over to Ezra and helped him up. "Thanks." he said. "Don't mention it." she replied before a trooper came out from behind the other side of the transport and before he could shoot, Chopper electrocuted him, rendering him unconscious as the droid warbled.

"Help me! We gotta get 'em out." Ezra said as they heard someone banging on the inside of the walkers hatch. The three teens quickly opened it and helped Ezra's friends out. "You okay?" he asked. "Yeah. Let's just get out of here." one of them replied. "Wait. Give me that blaster." the second one said. "Uh, sure. Why?" the first asked, sounding confused as he handed the blaster over. "Because I'm staying." the second replied. "What?" Ezra asked, sounding surprised. "It's the only way I'll ever find my sister." the second replied.

"We've got bucketheads inbound!" Sabine warned, pointing to two officers and a squad of troopers heading towards them from inside the academy before the teens and droid, minus the second cadet ran away from the blast door. Zeb suddenly entered the yard from the right in a landspeeder. "Get in!" he urged quickly as the group did so before the second cadet fired at them and missed each shot on purpose.

Zeb drove to the rendezvous point shortly after the _Ghost _arrived. "Jai, we'll take you to your mother, but you'll both have to go into hiding." Hera told him as she rested a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Yeah, from the Empire. No problem." he replied, not sounding very happy before he started walking up the ship's ramp. "We'll help with that too." the woman assured, before she and the others minus Ezra and Kanan followed him into the ship.

**Hopefully the chapter ****wasn't too disappointing being so short.**


	5. Out of Darkness

**Finally a chapter that focuses on Sabine. **

Hera flew the _Phantom_ over the plains of Lothal as she, Ezra and the two older teens sat in the shuttle as a TIE fighter chased them. "Hera, shouldn't we be, uh, firing back?" Sabine asked, sounding worried. "Stay calm. It's all part of the plan." Hera assured. "Is getting blasted out of the sky part of the plan too? Because if it is, then the plan's going great." Ezra said sarcastically.

"Ezra, you should know better. There isn't a pilot in the Imperial fleet that can outrun me." she replied confidently after blasting the TIE out of the air. "Yeah. So, uh, how 'bout teaching me some of those high-flyin' moves?" he asked. "You? Fly my ship? I don't know, Ezra. You really think you're ready?" she asked with a small smirk before he nodded. "Not ready. Not ready!" he panicked a few seconds later upon noticing three more TIEs headed towards them.

Hera quickly turned so that the TIEs were behind them before returning fire as the fighters tried blowing them out of the sky. "Well, we've gotten ourselves into another fine mess." the Mandalorian girl said, sounding annoyed. "I admit it's a little messier than our intel indicated." the Twi'lek admitted. "Yeah. That's been happening a lot lately. Where, may I ask, does this intel come from?" Sabine asked with a frown. "You may ask." the older woman replied. "Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt, but could we maybe focus a little more on not dying?!" Ezra asked in worry before the girl had a chance to ask. "I'm with Ezra, 'cause I really _really _don't want to die at the age of 15." Anakin chimed in.

"Hang on!" Hera said before flying the shuttle through a narrow ravine and scraping the bottom against one of the mountains. Ezra checked the screen as a small warning beep went off. "It's okay. Paint might be a little scratched, but no real damage." he said. "Oh, there's damage. Steering's off." Hera replied. "Not what this says." the kid said. "It's what I say, and I know my ship." she replied matter-of-factly.

"Hey, I'm all for sticking it to the Empire, but what was in that convoy? You never told us why the mission was so important." Sabine pointed out. "I've told you before, Fulcrum's intel is on a need-to-know basis." the captain replied as Anakin frowned in annoyance. "And I told you before, I need to know more." the young girl replied, frowning at being left out of the loop. _'Oh, great. I've got a crush on a girl with __trust issues.' _Hera sighed in relief after the scanner showed both remaining TIEs were gone.

Hera docked the shuttle with the ship before everyone slid down the ladder to the common room where Kanan, Zeb and Chopper were waiting. "Everyone okay?" the older Jedi asked. "We're fine, but I scraped the _Phantom_'s underbelly." Hera replied, gesturing to the top of the ladder with her thumb as Anakin and Sabine sat on the seat were the holotable was, the former inspecting his DC-15S and the latter silently brooding. "You?" the older Jedi asked with a smirk. "It was somewhat unavoidable once your plan went south." Hera replied, pointing at him and returning the smirk. "Ah, there we go. Knew there had to be a way this was my fault." he replied, grinning and gesturing to himself.

"And you were right, dear. Zeb, I'll need the Phantom ready to pick up the supplies from Fulcrum. Adjust the steering and run a diagnostic. Chopper and Ezra will help you fix any problems you find." she replied to Kanan before ordering the other three. "Really? Have you met them?" the Lasat asked, sounding skeptical at the thought the other two could actually help. "Hey!" Ezra protested, feeling a bit insulted, and punching the Zeb on the arm. "And I'm leaving soon, so get to it." she added, walking towards the cockpit as Zeb and Ezra climbed up the ladder to the shuttle. The two teens sat for awhile before Sabine suddenly stood and started walking towards the cockpit as Anakin watched her for a moment before following and holstering his rifle. _'I better see what this is about.' _

"It's getting harder to anticipate the Empire's moves. That's for sure." they heard Kanan say before entering the cockpit. "Yeah, about that. I'd like to know why we're relying on intel from this Fulcrum, whoever he is." Sabine said as Anakin raised a brow. _'She __automatically thinks Fulcrum's a guy?' _"It's Hera's job to find missions that create problems for the Empire and profit for us. If she trusts the contact, I trust the contact. No questions asked." Kanan said as he swivelled his chair before standing up and walking over to her while Anakin sat down in the chair behind the one he was just in.

"At the Imperial Academy they didn't want me to ask questions either. That didn't work for me. That's why I ended up here." she replied, frowning at him. "And we're grateful to have you." the Jedi said before she groaned in frustration. "You are so frustrating." she replied, annoyance clear in her tone. "Yeah, I've heard that before." he waved off before exiting the cockpit.

"Fine. I'm done asking questions. I'm telling you: I'm coming on your run to meet Fulcrum." the Mandalorian girl said sounding final as she folded her arms. "You know, you can be pretty frustrating too." the Twi'lek pointed out, taking a sip from her drink. "Learned from the best." she retorted with a smirk. "I'm impressed by your sass, Sabine." Anakin complimented, earning a smile in return. "Thanks." she replied.

"Perhaps you should come as well Anakin." Hera said, taking another sip. Even though it sounded like a suggestion, the merc could sense she actually meant it as an order and even though he wanted to refuse, he was still under that four month advanced payment. The teen sighed deeply. "Yes, ma'am." he reluctantly replied before the ship exited hyperspace.

The three stood and walked to the engine room door before it opened to reveal Zeb, Ezra and Chopper as the two women folded their arms. "I take it you've finished the repairs?" Hera asked them. "Uh, you were right. The steering needed fixing, which I did." Ezra replied with an innocent smile as he held up a wrench and the droid warbled. "And life support filters needed purging, which we also did." Zeb added before Chopper smacked Ezra then zapped the Lasat before rolling away. "Chopper! I'm gonna 'dismantalate' that nut bucket!" Zeb yelled as he chased after the droid, Ezra right behind him. "Leave a few bolts for me!" the kid yelled after him. "Let's go." the woman said to the two teens before they made their way to shuttle and Hera took off.

"So what's the deal? Is Fulcrum just another smuggler like Vizago? Why all the secrecy?" Sabine asked. "Oh. It's no secret we're fighting against the Empire. We need as many allies as we can get." Hera replied. "How do you find a way of answering questions without giving any answers?" the Mandalorian girl asked, sounding frustrated. "Do you really want me to answer that?" the captain asked her. "_Phantom, this is Fulcrum. Come in._" Fulcrum's disguised voice came over the shuttle's com as Anakin tensed a bit. "This is Spectre-2, Fulcrum." Hera replied. "Why don't I talk to him?" Sabine asked with a smirk. "Don't you dare." the Twi'lek warned lightly with a finger pointed at the younger girl for emphasis.

"_Already at the rendezvous, Spectre-2. Supplies are unloaded and ready. Should I wait?_" Fulcrum asked. "Yeah, stick around. Specter-2 and I would love to talk to you." Sabine answered before Hera could. "_Spectre-2, what's the problem?_" the informant asked. "No problem, Fulcrum. Spectre-5 and Anakin decided to help with the supply run." Hera replied before Anakin flung his hands up as if to say 'Why did you say that?!'. Fulcrum remained quiet for a few moments. "_Ani...?_" they trailed off quietly, wondering if they had heard right as said teen blushed in embarrassment at hearing his childhood nickname.

"_Um, un-understood, Spectre-2! Fulcrum out._" they stuttered a bit before abruptly cutting off. "Before anybody asks, one more month of no pay in return for no one questioning me about Fulcrum." Anakin growled much to Sabine's confusion while Hera slowly nodded before turning her attention back to the younger girl. "You know, an outburst like that is not appreciated." she said, chastising her lightly for earlier.

"Neither is all this secrecy." the Mandalorian girl shot back before Hera flew the shuttle towards asteroid PM-1203, formerly part of the planet Anaxes before said planet exploded at the of the Clone Wars from a cataclysmic event known as the Destruction of Anaxes. Miraculously however Fort Anaxes, an old Republic military base, had survived the destruction and was still intact. _'Wait a minute... I don't sense mom down there. Hera must have lied to get Sabine off her back. Oh thank the Force... I do not need to be babied right now or ever again.'_

Hera landed the shuttle just outside the base's entrance before the three exited the shuttle. "So, where's the mystery man?" Sabine asked. "I don't know. Maybe Fulcrum didn't like your attitude. I know I didn't." she replied, mumbling the last sentence as they walked over to a few crates. Sabine was about to grab the green one before Hera stopped her. "I'll take that one." she said quickly before turning on its anti-grav and moving it towards the ship. Anakin raised a brow before looking at the side of the crate as she was passing him before noticing a symbol. _'Ah, that's why she took it. Fulcrum's symbol is on the side.'_ Anakin and Sabine each grabbed a red crate with faded paint before following Hera.

"Look, Hera, I'm sorry for the attitude. It's just things seem to be getting more dangerous every day, and I need to know that you and Kanan can trust me." Sabine apologized when they were about halfway from the shuttle. "We trust you, Sabine. We just can't tell you everything. It's for the safety of the whole crew. If captured, you can't reveal what you don't know." Hera replied gently before moving her crate in front of Hera's to stop her.

"You think I'd talk?" Sabine asked sounding a bit offended. "I think we think the Imperials can make anyone talk. You've seen what they're capable of." Hera reminded. "Yeah, I have. That's why I need to know." Sabine replied. "You already know exactly what you need to know and no more. I need you to trust me now." Hera said gently while moving her crate around and continueing towards the shuttle, Anakin right behind them.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? Hera, you know what happened when I was a cadet at the Imperial Academy on Mandalore. I trusted the Empire, followed its orders blindly, and it was a nightmare." Sabine replied, pouring her heart out as Anakin felt bad for her. _'After everything she's gone through, I can't blame her for having trust issues...'_

"I want to believe we're doing good, making a difference. But sometimes it seems like the harder we fight, the harder things get out there. I feel like we can't take down the Empire on our own. That's why I need to know this isn't all for nothing. I need to know that I am not walking into another nightmare here." Sabine pleaded after they dropped the three crates off and started making their way back to the other ones before Hera turned and held her by the shoulders.

"What you need is faith. Faith that there is a long-term plan that's bigger than you or me, bigger than Lothal, bigger than the entire Outer Rim. Have faith in that and in us. We- Kanan -He knows what he's doing." Hera reassured letting go of her shoulder. "Uh, girls? Weren't there more crates?" Anakin asked upon noticing claw marks on the ground right where the other crates had been.

"There were more crates, but someone's dragged them away." Hera said as they looked towards the blast door that was opened just enough for someone to walk in. "Maybe he's still here." Sabine replied. "Who?" the captain asked. "She means Fulcrum." Anakin answered. The merc sensed for his mother but instead felt something else as his eyes widened, a whole lotta somethings else. _'Shit.'_

"No." Hera replied, shaking her head and folding her arms. "Well, who else knows about this place?" Sabine asked. "Not sure. This base was abandoned years ago, after the Clone Wars. Besides, why drag them? Why not use the anti-grav?" the Twi'lek wondered. "Whoa. Sunrise comes along fast in these parts." Sabine said a small asteroid floated in front of the sun, casting a shadow over them for a moment. "Let's see what else comes along." Hera said, as she and the two teens readied their blasters before the captain turned on a small flashlight and the three made their way into the base.

_'Cool! An old Republic gunship!' _Anakin smiled as Hera's flashlight moved over said wrecked gunship. "Whoever did this must have been pretty eager to get what was inside." Anakin said as they walked up to one of the crates that had claw marks. "Too eager to just flip the latch and open them? Who would- we're not dealing with a _who_. More like a _what_." Hera replied shining her flashlight over some wreckage after hearing something clatter behind it. The captain shined the light near the top of the wreckage after they heard a low growl.

"That's comforting. You don't happen to know why this base was abandoned?" Sabine asked while Anakin aimed his blaster where Hera shone the light before they heard something screech in the back. "I'm starting to have my suspicions." she replied as they slowly backed up. _'Frynocks!' _Anakin realized as they nearly backed into one before it roared at them. "Run for it!" Anakin yelled, running towards the blast door with the other two right behind him as they took shots at the frynocks.

The team made it out before turning and taking aim just as one frynock stopped and retreated as it reached the sunlight. A larger asteroid suddenly created a bigger shadow over the outside of the base and the team opened fire as one creature started running towards them before stopping and retreating again as the shadow started to disappear. "Frynocks hate sunlight, we'll be fine as long as we stay in the light." Anakin explained as they holstered their blasters. "Good, but do you see the size of that asteroid? That's going to block out the sun for a long time." Sabine said, pointing to a much bigger asteroid as it slowly moved to block the sun off.

"How long?" Hera asked, folding her arms as the younger girl tossed hers up in exasperation. "I don't know! Long enough for us to become lunch." she replied. "Luckily we weren't planning on staying. All right. Let's get to work." she replied before she grabbed one of the two remaining crates while Anakin helped Sabine with the last. "Last one." the merc said as he connected it to the others in the shuttle. "Good. Let's go." Hera replied before closing the door and sitting in the pilot chair as Anakin sat in the back and Sabine walked up beside Hera.

"No, no, no, no, no! We had nearly a full tank when we landed. Now we're out of fuel?" Hera asked out loud in surprise. "Perhaps contacting Zeb would be a good idea." Anakin suggested. "Exactly what I was going to do." Hera replied before contacting the Lasat on the shuttle's com. "Spectre-2 to Spectre-4. Come in. Spectre-2 to Spectre-4. Come in!" she said urgently. "_Go ahead, Spectre-2._" Zeb replied. "You did run a full diagnostic on the Phantom, correct?" she asked. "_Of course._" he replied. "And you checked the results?" the Twi'lek asked. A few seconds passed before Zeb finally replied. "Um, Spectre-2, there might be a small problem with the fuel line." he said guiltily.

"Small problem? Uh, guys, we have a situation." she said, her tone a bit frantic. "_We're on our way._ Ghost _out._" Kanan assured before cutting off as the three now stood outside. "No way they get here before that asteroid blocks the sun and-" she was cut off as they heard the frynocks screeching and turned their attention back to the base. "I guess we could hole up in the _Phantom_?" she suggested.

"Judging by the torn-up shuttle in there, locking ourselves in the Phantom won't protect us. Could get grim." Hera replied, folding her arms. "Well, I'll take grim right now." Sabine said before walking over to some fuel canisters. "Thought I recognized these markings. Allow me to introduce you to one of my oldest and most explosive friends: rhydonium." she said while turning one on.

"Rhydonium? We better be careful, the last thing we want is to get blown to Hell." the merc said. "He's right. Good to have friends though. So what's your plan?" Hera asked her. "Since we don't know how many of those creatures are in there, we can set up groups of canisters and create explosions that take them out a wave at a time." she explained. "How will you get the creatures close enough to the rhydonium to be effective?" the captain asked.

"We're gonna need bait." the Mandalorian girl replied. "Where do we get that?" she asked. "We don't get it. We are it." the younger girl replied with a smirk. "There's no need for you two to risk yourselves. I'll be the bait." Anakin said. Sabine looked like she wanted to protest but instead nodded slowly. "All right, let's get ready." Hera said before starting to move one of the canisters.

"Be careful, please." the Mandalorian girl pleaded softly. "You worry too much, Snips." he replied, not realizing he'd just called her by the nickname his namesake had given the merc's mom. He smirked behind his mask before noticing the deep concern in her eyes and hugging her. "'Snips' huh?" she asked, with a smirk after the hug ended. "Well you can be pretty snippy sometimes." he teased, returning her smirk as she rolled her eyes playfully. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, _Ani_." she replied just as teasingly before walking over to a canister. The young man blushed when Sabine called him that and for some reason he didn't find it irritating when she did, unlike with anyone else who did.

The giant asteroid blocked out the sun just as they had finished setting up the canisters before Anakin walked near the blast door. The teen quickly dove out of the way as one charged them before the girls shot the canister, blowing it up and killing the frynock. "Fall back! Wave 2." Hera ordered as more creatures came out running and screeching. _'Way too many for me to be the bait for all of them.'_ the three ran as fast as they could before the girls took cover behind two canisters side-by-side and Anakin took cover behind another further away.

The merc stuck his hand around part of the canister and used the Force to hold five of the frynocks down near a few canisters before the girls blasted at one, killing all five. "It worked. We just might survive this." Sabine said with a smile as Anakin walked up to them. "Wait. You doubted your own plan?" Hera asked, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Never." Sabine stated confidently. "Good, 'cause I sure did." the captain replied. "Hey!" the Mandalorian girl complained with a small glare before one of the creatures screeched at them as the dust settled.

"Come on. They're closing in. Wave three." Hera said as they retreated and took cover behind three more canisters before opening fire on some other canisters. More creatures were killed as they kept shooting. "Wave four. Incoming!" the Twi'lek warned before running towards the shuttle. "Oh. Did I mention there are a lot of 'em?" Sabine asked as she and Anakin fired off a few more shots before following. "Sounds familiar." Hera replied as she stopped in front of the shuttle.

"Light it up." Hera said as before they shot at two canisters on either side of three of the creatures. The explosions didn't kill them but fire made them back off for a moment before the three plus more started making their way around the flames. "Coming in from both sides." she warned. "What about wave five?" Sabine asked. _'Starting to wish I had one of those old Z-6 rotary blaster cannon's.' _the merc thought as he blasted a few more frynocks. "We didn't have a plan for wave five." Anakin replied. "Afraid of that. The _Phantom_?" Sabine asked. "Not inside. Go up top." the captain replied as Anakin climbed up first before helping each of them up as the creatures started swarming them.

The merc quiclky switched to his dual DC-17s, allowing him to shoot more before kicking one that tried to jump at him and Hera shooting it. "They just keep coming!" Sabine exclaimed as she blasted one that tried climbing up the back. "Tell me something I don't know." the Twi'lek replied. "We're going to die." Sabine said, fear creeping into her voice. "That's no secret." Hera replied before the frynocks suddenly retreated and they turned around to see the _Ghost _hovering near them with it's lights on.

The ramp on the ship opened to reveal Ezra and Zeb as it lowerd closer to the ground before the creatures realized the lights from the ship didn't hurt them and started running towards them again. "The light's not hurting them." Sabine said, her tone sounding worried. "Then we better move." Hera replied quickly as the ship lowered towards them with Zeb helping them shoot the creatures and Ezra using his slingshot.

"Sabine! I got your back." Ezra assured before jumping onto the top of the shuttle as the other three jumped onto the ramp with Zeb and kept shooting. "These guys aren't so tough." the kid said with a cocky smirk after having zapped a few before one now stood behind him while his attention was focused Sabine. The Mandalorian girl took aim and shot it in the head before it could attack Ezra, much to his surprise.

Another jumped up and screeched at him, causing the young Jedi to trip backwards over the shuttle's gun before he tried zapping it. The frynock shrugged his attack off much to Ezra's surprise. "Karabast!" he exclaimed before it pinned him down and he had to try stopping it from biting him. Anakin took aim with both pistols and shot it in the eyes before it could make a meal out of him. The merc blasted another creature in the head before Ezra jumped back onto the ramp with Zeb's help.

"Nice moves out there, champ." the Lasat said before kicking a frynock that tried jumping at him. "Chopper! Close her up!" he ordered the droid as they shot creatures climbing onto the ramp while they backed up towards the cargo bay. The ramp stopped at the top as a frynock's head got stuck in between it and the ship._ 'I know he's trying to kill us, but I can't help but feel bad for the little guy getting tortured like that.' _Zeb growled and activated his bo-rifle's electrostaff. "No hitchhikers!" he growled, electrocuting it in the face and causing it to fall outside before the ramp fully closed. "Kanan, we're all aboard." Zeb told him over the ship's com as Hera left the cargo bay.

"_Chopper, reroute coolant to the engine._" Hera ordered over the com a minute later. "Thanks for saving me." Ezra said to Anakin as Sabine climbed up the ladder. "You owe me for that, junior." the merc replied as he climbed up after the girl. The teen watched as she hopped into the nose gun seat before blasting a few more frynocks as Hera grabbed the shuttle with the ship's magnetic locks then taking off into space.

Anakin leaned against the right side of the railing overlooking the cargo hold as Hera, Zeb and Ezra unloaded the crates from the shuttle and turned their anti-grav off now that they were in the hold. "Look, Hera, I'm sorry about not checking the diagnostic." Zeb apologized. "We're all sorry. Right, Chopper? Anyway, we'll fix the _Phantom_." Ezra said as the droid warbled. "Don't even worry about it." the Lasat assured. "Now, why would I worry?" Hera asked sarcastically as Sabine stepped beside Anakin. "Mmm. Maybe because the last time they 'fixed' it, we nearly wound up as lunch?" the Mandalorian girl asked, just as sarcastic. "Oh, right. That's why." the captain replied as she and the two older teens climbed the ladder to the common room.

The two in Mandalorian armor made their way to their shared room before Sabine pressed the button on the panel beside it and the door opened. "Sabine, I know you have questions, questions I can't answer right now. But know that I trust you. I just trusted you with my life down there, both of you." Hera said as she came up behind them. "I know. I know you do." she replied gently. "Good. We are making a difference, Sabine. And I promise: we won't always be fighting this battle alone. Do you think you can trust me?" the Twi'lek asked with a smile. "I think I can try." she replied with a small smile before Hera left and the two teens entered their room.

**Chapter 5 is finally done.**


	6. Empire Day

Anakin and Sabine entered Old Jho's Pit Stop shortly after the others minus Chopper and just as Jho turned on the Imperial HoloNews at the order of a TIE fighter pilot before leaning against the wall near the table Hera and Zeb were sitting at. "_Because today is Empire Day, celebrating the 15th anniversary of the galaxy's salvation, when our great Emperor Palpatine ended the Clone Wars and founded our glorious Empire. On Lothal, Governor Pryce has commissioned a parade._" the broadcaster said. "You heard the man! Raise your cups to Emperor-" the pilot started to order before he was cut off by the broadcast changing to Trayvis' picture.

"_This is Senator-in-exile Gall Trayvis. I bring more news the Empire doesn't want you to hear. I urge you to boycott all Empire Day celebrations to protest the ongoing injustices of the Imperial regime._" he urged. "Shut this off!" the pilot ordered. "Can't. It's the law." Jho replied. "We're don here." the pilot said before he and two other pilots exited the cantina.

The two older teens walked over to Kanan and Ezra. "TIE pilots on search patrols? What's going on?" Kanan asked Jho after the Ithorian shut the broadcast off. "Imperials have locked down the ports and put Destroyers in orbit. It's a full planetary blockade." Jho replied. "They're after a Rodian." the older Jedi said turning his head to look at a Rodian behind them for a second.

"Just be glad they're not after us for once." Sabine said as Hera and Zeb walked over to them. "With what we've got planned for today's parade, they'll be after us again tomorrow." Kanan replied with a smirk. "Well, you're gonna have to do it without me." Ezra said standing up and turning around as Kanan stood as well. "Where do you think you're going?" the older man asked. "I just need to be alone. Today has brought back some memories." the kid replied before leaving the cantina.

That night the team minus Ezra and Chopper stopped in a back alley near the main street the parade was being held. "Okay, let's start the celebration." Kanan said with a smirk. "Copy that. Commencing festivities." Sabine replied, slipping her helmet on as she and Anakin ran off in one direction while the other three took off in a different direction. The two teens made their way to a different alley right near the stage Tua, Rudor and an Imperial officer stood on near the new TIE Advanced v1.

"Okay, when I say 'now', throw this as high as you can." she said handing him a thermal detonator that was on. "Now?" he asked after a few seconds. "Now?" he asked a few seconds later as the beeping became faster. "Now?" he asked worriedly as the beeping became rapid. "Now." she replied after another second passed before he tossed it and they watched it exploded into fireworks. "A thermal detonator that explodes fireworks? Is there any kind of bomb you _can't _make?" he asked, smiling behind his helmet. "I'll never tell." she replied teasingly with a smirk. "Another?" she asked, offering another one. "Don't mind if I do." he replied, taking it out of her hand and tossing it into the air as they watched it explode.

A few minutes later the TIE exploded and knocked the three on the stage down before the teens cheered. The two quickly caught up with Kanan, Zeb and surprisingly Ezra as the ran down the street and away from the parade. "Nice of you to join us, kid." Anakin said to the young Jedi. "Hey, where were you?" Sabine asked the kid. "Why? Did you miss me?" Ezra teased. "In your dreams." the merc replied with a smirk.

The group stopped near a building before looking at the Imperials nearby which happened to include Kallus as Zeb aimed his rifle at the agent. "Been spoilin' to finish things with Agent Kallus." he growled, preparing to shoot before Kanan placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Hey, if you want to take somebody out, take out _that_ guy!" the Jedi told while pointing to the Inquisitor. Zeb groaned in frustration before doing so. "Fine." he replied, reluctantly doing so. The Dark-sider dodged both shots before the team continued running.

"Spectre-2, we're en route to rendezvous." Kanan said over his com as they rounded a corner. "_Negative, Spectre-1. The streets are blocked. I cannot repeat cannot reach rendezvous._" Hera replied, causing them all to stop. "I know a place we can hole up till things calm down. But 'Shoulders' here might have a problem taking my route." Ezra said said as he gestured to Zeb. "Then we need another option." the older Jedi said. "Nah, it's fine. Spectre-2, can you make it to the Old Market?" Zeb asked her over his com. "_Affirmative._" she replied as he started scaling the building on there right. "I'm on my way." he replied. "Get back to the _Ghost_." Kanan said. "Follow me." Ezra said as they took off again. "We'll signal a new rendezvous when we can!" Kanan yelled back him before Ezra lead them to an air vent.

After exiting the vent Ezra led them to a house with boarded up windows and the Empire's symbol painted on the wall beside the door. "That's an Imperial warning declaring this building off-limits. What is this place?" Sabine asked him as he took out a keycard and swiped it on the panel beside the door before it opened half way. "You were coming here today. This was your home, wasn't it, where you grew up?" Kanan asked. "I grew up on the streets, alone." Ezra replied, his tone sounding bitter as he pushed one side of the door open and they entered.

"Then why here? Why now?" Sabine asked after removing her helmet and Kanan closing the door. "Had this feeling." the kid replied. Ezra walked over to the couch and moved the small table to reveal a hidden bunker before gasping in surprise after looking inside. "Tseebo. Tseebo, it's me, Ezra Bridger." he said before they saw a Rodian with some kind of cybernetics attached to his head exit the hole.

The Rodian looked around before walking forward and speaking Huttese until he suddenly walked into the wall. "That's the Rodian the Imperials are hunting. You know him?" Kanan asked. "Name's Tseebo. A friend of my parents. But something's wrong. What's that thing on his head?" the kid asked as he sat on the couch. "Empire's been known to implant lower level technicians with cybernetic circuits. Personality sacrificed for productivity." Sabine explained after walking over to Tseebo and checking the cybernetics out. "Tseebo's productivity is 19% higher than average Imperial data worker." he replied mechanically while looking at her.

"Tseebo went to work for the Imperial information office after the Empire took my parents away." the young Jedi said as Kanan walked up to him. "Your parents? You never told us." Kanan said. "What's to tell? They've been gone for eight years. I've been on my own since I was seven." he replied bitterly while standing up.. "Seven. Imperial-" the Rodian started in Basic before speaking the rest in Huttese as he walked around aimlessly.

"What's he saying?" the older Jedi asked her. "He's detailing Imperial fighter deployments on Lothal." the Mandalorian girl replied. "That's it. Tseebo has intel the Empire doesn't want getting out. Sabine, can you access it?" he asked. "Uh, I think so. I need a few minutes." she replied as she walked over to Tseebo and started pressing buttons on his cybernetics. "Want some help?" the merc asked before getting a nod in return and helping her.

"Ezra. You okay?" Kanan asked him. "I'm fine." he replied, sounding annoyed before climbing down the ladder. "I told you, sometimes you have to let your guard down." the older man replied gently. "I said I'm fine." Ezra insisted, his voice echoing a bit. "Ezra Bridger. Son of Ephraim and Mira Bridger. Born 15 years ago today." the Rodian said. "Oh. Empire Day. It's Ezra's birthday." Sabine said softly. "That explains why he didn't seem like himself today." Anakin added.

After the two tinkered a bit they managed to get something before Sabine retrieved Ezra. The two exited the small bunker before she pressed a button on her wrist computer. "What are we looking at?" Kanan asked as a holographic screen was projected from the cybernetics and it flipped through different pictures. "It's... well, it's everything. Imperial specs on the new TIEs and new T-8 Disruptors. Schedules of troop movements, tactics and strategies. Half of it's encrypted, but it looks like there's a five-year plan for Lothal and every other world in the Outer Rim." Sabine explained before the hologram ended and Tseebo groaned while holding his head.

"No wonder his brain's shorting out. All that data'd overload anyone." Ezra said. "The secrets in his head must be damaging to the Empire. We'll need to smuggle him off Lothal." Kanan said. "Gotta smuggle him out of town first. You know the only reason the Imperials haven't caught him yet is because their forces were occupied with Empire Day. But the day's almost done." the Mandalorian girl reminded. ...Before Tseebo walked into the door and fell down, earning a collective groan of frustration. "You gotta be kidding me..." Anakin mumbled, saying what they were all thinking.

Sabine and Anakin watched as two AT-DP troopers on speed bikes took off before he blasted one of the normal stormtroopers with his DC-15S while Sabine punched the other before hissing in slight pain as she cradled the hand she'd punched with. "I miss Zeb." she said as Kanan ran past her. The AT-DP trooper in the troop transport popped out of it before Kanan knocked him out and tossed the unconscious trooper by the other.

After Anakin helped Ezra get the Rodian inside and seated, Kanan and Sabine sat in the co-pilot and pilot's seats before starting the transport up. The Mandalorian girl piloted the transport out the south highway before noticing a roadblock with another transport, a few troopers and two AT-DP walkers just a few kilometres ahead. "I have no plans on stopping." she said as they neared the blockade. "That's good to know." Ezra replied nervously.

"Punch it!" Kanan said said as Sabine picked up speed and the Imperials opened fire on them. The older Jedi returned fire with the transports cannons before they took two blasts from the walkers, causing the transport to shake. "Good thing these transports have shields." Anakin said in relief. "No kidding." the younger teen agreed in equal relief. The Imperial troops on foot barely managed to dive out of the way as Sabine zoomed past them then knocked a walker over as she rammed one of it's legs after an attempt to stop them before crashing into the other transport and knocking it away.

A few minutes later the door to the transport was suddenly blown off and as he walked over to check it out, Ezra was kicked to the other side by an AT-DP trooper who swung in from the top of the transport. "The Rodian!" the trooper realized upon seeing Tseebo before Kanan slammed him against the wall. The trooper punched the Jedi, knocking him onto the floor with his head partway out the door just as another trooper on a speeder bike came up beside and aimed his blaster a Kanan's head. Unfortunately the trooper still on the transport seemed to forget their were other on it as well and the merc took advantage of that as he kicked him out the door, which in turn knocked him into the trooper on the bike before causing him to crash. "Thanks." the Jedi said as the teen helped him up. "Well you sure as hell didn't hire me for my looks, now did ya?" he replied dryly.

The transport shook a few seconds later as something suddenly rammed into them from behind. "Gods! Don't these guys ever quit?!" Anakin snarled in frustration as he readied his rifle. "Spectre-5 to Ghost. We're coming in hot." Sabine said over the transport's com. "_Can see that. You got company upstairs._" Zeb replied. "I'll handle it." the teen replied before climbing up onto the top of the transport.

"Hey, old man! Come and get me!" Anakin challenged before Kallus activated his bo-rifle's electrostaff and swiped at the teen. Much to the older mans surprise his opponent had grabbed the end he had attacked with. "Layer of rubber." the teen explained with a small shrug before the staff was ripped free of his grip and he had to block a few more attacks. The teen hopped over a swipe aimed at his ankles before stepping on the bo-rifle with one foot then kicking the agent off the transport just after the _Ghost_ destroyed the the transport chasing them. "Okay, we're all clear. Pull over, and we'll-" Anakin started over his helmet's com before Hera cut him off. "_Belay that. Have to be a scoop job. Sensors reading multiple TIEs incoming._" she warned as he picked up Kallus' bo-rifle and inspected it. "Nah..." he said nonchalantly before tossing it over the side of the transport.

After Hera's warning Anakin helped Kanan up onto the roof before they both grabbed Tseebo and helped him followed by Ezra. The ship lowered it's lowered ramp as close as Hera could before the merc helped his crush up onto the roof. "Get in." Zeb said as he stood on the ramp with his one hand open towards them before Kanan helped the Rodian onto the ramp. The merc and older Jedi suddenly noticed Kallus had climbed halfway onto the roof and seemed to have caught his bo-rifle after the former had tossed it off earlier. _'Maybe i should have tossed it over the side rather then the back.' _the agent fired off a few shots before Kanan connected the two pieces of his lightsaber together. "Go! Go!" the older man urged quickly before the other jumped onto the ramp and ran inside, Kanan jumping onto the ramp a few seconds later.

As Kanan went to the top gun the others took Tseebo to the common room. "Karabast! They came from behind! Is that scrap heap even payin' attention?" Zeb growled after a blast rocked the ship and he started climbing the ladder to the cockpit. "I have to man the nose guns." Sabine said before taking off towards the cargo hold. "I'll be in the engine room in case the ship needs some quick repairs." Anakin said. Both in Mandalorian armor stopped when the Rodian started to speak normally. "Yeah, Tseebo. It's me. But now's not the best time for a reunion." Ezra said quickly. "Ezra Bridger-" Tseebo started to say before saying the rest in Huttese. "What's he saying?" the kid asked Sabine. "He says... He says he knows what happened to your parents." she replied gently as a look of surprise crossed the young Jedi's face.

**Chapter 6 is done. I forgot this episode was a two parter that wasn't a special roughly 45 minutes long.**


	7. Gathering Forces

"_Sabine, I need you in the nose gun, now!_" Hera ordered over the ship's com. Said girl hesitated for a moment while Anakin folded his arms. "Didn't you hear Hera?" Ezra asked, frowning at her as the ship shook again. "Didn't you hear Tseebo? He said he knows what happened to your parents." she replied. "I already know what happened. They're dead. So go!" he snapped with a glare. The Mandalorian girl hesitated and looked at him with concern before running out the door. "Sabine was just trying to help." Anakin said, glaring at him before following her out the door.

As soon as the ship entered hyperspace the crew made their way to the common room before the two older teens and Twi'lek went to fixing Chopper up. "So? Now what do we do with him?" Ezra asked, sitting at the holotable and gesturing to the Rodian. "We have a few ideas. But you're the one who has history with Tseebo. What do you think we should do?" Kanan asked as he walked up to the table and leaned on it with his hands. "Don't know. Don't much care." the kid replied, putting on his painted cadet helmet. "Ezra, you'll never advance as a Jedi if you can't be honest with yourself, at least." the older Jedi said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, sounding annoyed then standing and trying to walk away before Kanan grabbed his helmet and took it off. "It means Tseebo matters to you. You do care what happens to him." he replied, placing the helmet on the table as Ezra turned to face him. "Why should I? He did nothing to save my parents!" the kid snapped while pointing to Tseebo. "What could he have done against the entire Empire?" Kanan pointed out before Sabine stood and walked over to the Rodian.

"And besides, look at what he's done since. The Imperials encourage these implants, but they're not mandatory. Not yet. He must have volunteered. And then he uploaded their secrets and ran. Maybe he's trying to make up for letting you down. Why else would he take on the Empire alone?" Sabine asked. "Empire." the Rodian said before speaking in Huttese again. "He said the Empire can track the _Ghost_." she translated. "Oh, please. The Imperials can't follow us through hyperspace." Zeb said, sounding skeptical before Tseebo's cybernetics projected a hologram of a tracker.

"Imperial XX-23 S-thread tracker was developed by Sienar systems to trace ships through hyperspace to destination." the Rodian explained mechanically. "Hera, could they have tagged us with that thing?" Kanan asked. "Guess we better find out." the captain replied before she and Anakin got Chopper back to working order. The warbled in a panicky tone before Hera tried calming him down.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, Chop. You were just off-line for a few minutes." she reassured, sighing before the two humanoids stood. "We need you to scan the _Ghost_ for that." Hera said while pointing at the hologram before the droid warbled a complaint. "Stop grumbling and find that tracker, you rust bucket!" Zeb said before he and droid left the room.

"So they did tag us." Sabine said as everyone minus the Rodian were now in the cockpit as Chopper showed a hologram of the ship with a small aiming reticle on the back where the shuttle was. "Yes. But the good news is the tracer's actually on the hull of the _Phantom_." Hera said as she pointed at it on the hologram. "How is that good news exactly?" Zeb asked. "It'll allow us to detach the _Phantom_ and lure the Imperials away from the Ghost and Tseebo." Kanan explained before the Mandalorian girl started to protest. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You want to detach while in hyperspace? Do you know how incredibly dangerous that is?" she asked incredulously.

"Not as dangerous as what I plan to do with the ship." he replied. "This should be good" Anakin said sarcastically. "I checked our current trajectory. If you can modify the hyperspace coordinates." the older Jedi said to Hera. "I could." she replied. "Then we can pass by the asteroid field where the old clone base is." he replied. "You mean the base with those frynocks that tried to eat us?" the merc asked. "Wait, what? Why would we want to go down there?" Ezra asked in surprise.

"He's right, Kanan. Why not just drop the _Phantom_ into our trail and let the Imperials chase after their tracker?" the Twi'lek asked. "Because there's more than a tracker at work here. Back on Lothal, I sensed it. The Inquisitor is on our trail, and as long as Ezra and I are on board the _Ghost_, we're jeopardizing Tseebo's escape." the older Jedi replied as Chopper turned the hologram off. _'Good thing dad taught me how to hide my Force-signature.' _"So I gotta leave the _Ghost_ and go to this nasty-filled asteroid as a favor to Tseebo?" Ezra asked, not sounding thrilled at idea. "As a favor to all of us. And don't worry. I'll be right beside you." Kanan reassured before Ezra sighed.

"Anakin, can you help me with something?" Sabine asked him as she noticed Ezra walk into kitchen. "You're going to try convincing him to talk to Tseebo, aren't you?" he asked. "Yes." she replied as he sighed and nodded before following her. The two entered the kitchen where the kid was watching the Rodian with folded arms as they walked up to Ezra. "So your parents do you really believe they're dead?" she asked him gently. "Yes. No I- I don't know. Does it matter?" he asked, sounding annoyed. "Yeah, of course it matters. You have to talk to Tseebo before we go." she insisted. "She's right. Despite the tense relationship I have with my mom and my dad being gone right now, I'd still wanna know i there alive or not." Anakin said in agreement with her.

"Yeah well... I tried that already." the kid replied, brushing them off. "Okay, so try harder! Once Hera takes him away, you may never see Tseebo again." she reminded as Anakin sensed Kanan just outside the door. "Maybe that's for the best." the kid replied bitterly as he walked over to the door. "Wha? How can you say that?" Sabine asked in surprise before he sighed and turned to face them.

"Guys... I've been on my own since I was seven, okay? If I'd let myself believe my folks were alive, if I let myself believe they'd come back and save me, I'd never have learned how to survive." Ezra explained before the door opened to reveal Kanan. "You ready?" he asked the younger Jedi. Ezra looked at the two other teens for a second before nodding to Kanan. "Okay." the older man said before the two exited the kitchen.

Anakin had a pretty good idea the reason she was trying so hard was because it reminded her something to do with her own family. "Maybe we can try to convince him again later." he said, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder and getting a small smile in return before he went over to the cupboard and grabbed a pack of noodles while she turned her gaze to the Rodian.

_'Home...' _Anakin's thoughts trailed off as Hera docked the ship with his mother's CR90 corvette. "_Fulcrum to_ Ghost_. Docking complete. Heading to the airlock now._" his mother's disguised voice said over the com. "Acknowledged, Fulcrum. We're ready and waiting." Hera replied. "I don't suppose Zeb and I could get to meet Fulcrum this time?" Sabine asked. "Nope. This time you stay in the cockpit." the Twi'lek replied with a smile. "That's what we did last time." the Lasat replied before Hera stopped and turned her attention to the teen male sitting in the chair behind Sabine. "Anakin-" she started before he cut her off. "No." he said simply. The Twi'lek sighed before leaving the cockpit.

A few hours later the shuttle docked and as Kanan descended the ladder, Anakin could sense something different about Ezra. _'Ah...that's what it is. He's had his first brush with the Dark Side.' _"Welcome back, you two." Sabine said. "You outsmarted them again. Good job, boss." Zeb complimented as Ezra descended the ladder. "You made it." Hera said, sounding relieved as she smiled. "Was there any doubt?" the older Jedi ask, returning her smile. "Never." she replied before the kid walked over to them. "Ezra, I have something-" Hera started before Kanan cut her off. "Ezra needs a little time to himself right now." he said before the young Jedi exited the common room. Kanan sighed as he looked at Hera. "We need to talk." he said.

Anakin accompanied Sabine to the nose gun where Ezra was sitting before releasing a deep sigh. "Rough couple of days." she said. "Yeah. It's been strange." the kid agreed. "We have just what you need. It's the holo-disk from your old house. It was pretty degraded, but we cleaned it up. And we found something." she replied with a small smile as Anakin inserted a small holodisk into the console beside them before a holographic picture of a younger Ezra with his parents appeared in front of the younger teen. "Mom? Dad." he realized with a small smile. "Happy birthday, Ezra Bridger." she said before Anakin nodded and they both left him alone.

**Chapter 7 done.**


	8. Idiot's Array

Ezra messed around with his cadet helmet while the Twi'lek and two older teens worked on a speeder bike before Chopper, Kanan and Zeb walked up the ramp followed by a man. "I can explain." Zeb said quickly as the droid warbled something. "Explain what?" Hera asked. "Hera, Sabine, Ezra, Anakin. This is Lando Calrissian. He needs a fast ship to move some cargo past the Imperial blockade of Lothal." Kanan explained. "Yes. For some reason, this planet has an unusually large Imperial presence." Lando said with a smile as Kanan nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"But are you sure you can get this vessel past the blockade, Captain... Hera, is it?" the smuggler asked as Hera folded her arms. "It is. And the _Ghost_ can mask both its signal and signature. We'll get you past the blockade. What's the cargo?" she asked. "I was told 'No questions asked'." he replied. "That's fine. It just costs more." she said. "Kanan and I already settled on a price. But I assume he requires your approval." Lando said. "He doesn't." she replied before the two men shook hands. "Excellent. When the job's done, you'll be paid handsomely, and, as agreed, I'll return your droid." he said to Kanan.

"Return our droid?" Hera asked, sounding surprised as Chopper warbled and hit Zeb in the leg. "Uh, yeah. Funny story. You see, Lando and I were playing sabacc, and I kinda... bet Chopper." he replied nervously much to Ezra and the two girls' surprise. "Garazeb Orrelios, Chopper wasn't yours to bet!" she snapped at him. "Kanan said it was okay." he replied quietly before she rounded on the older Jedi. "And you should know better! Chopper is a member of this crew!" she snapped at him next. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. We should go. I need to pick up my cargo, and I don't want to keep my supplier waiting. Besides, if all goes well, there won't be anything for you good people to argue about." the smuggler explained, trying to break their argument up.

Hera punched Kanan in the shoulder and groaned angrily before leaving the cargo hold. The teens and Lasat went to the common room after the ship took off and before Lando and Chopper entered. The droid went into the kitchen for a moment before coming out holding a cup of coffee and handing it to Lando. "Why, thank you, Chopper." he thanked while grabbing the cup. "Can't believe the little bolt bucket's actually waiting on that guy." Zeb said quietly to the two teens as the three sat at the holotable. "I can't believe you lost Chopper. Good thing I wasn't there. You'd have bet me." Ezra said, half joking half serious.

"Mmm, nah. You wouldn't have covered the pot. Besides, I think Calrissian cheated." the Lasat said. "You're just a sore loser. Lando seems nice enough." the kid replied. "I'm telling you, I don't like that guy." Zeb said before Sabine walked over to Lando. "Sabine. I understand this is your work. Reminds me of Janyor's protest paintings on Bith." the smuggler complimented, gesturing to the painted starbird on the wall just outside the kitchen. Anakin stopped slurping his noodles and glared at Lando for a moment before eating the rest as Ezra slightly glared at the smuggler.

"Janyor of Bith is a major influence." Sabine said to Lando. "Well, your work is even more stunning in its simplicity." he complimented. "Hey, I told you your stuff was good months ago." Ezra interjected. "Yeah, but you didn't know why." Sabine replied, annoyance in her tone before the smuggler clicked his tongue. "Oh, milady, that's hardly fair. He's just a child with no experience of the galaxy." he patronized the younger teen lightly.

"I, um I don't suppose you'd like to see my more impressionistic pieces?" Sabine asked with a smile as Anakin placed the empty bowl down before standing and walking. "I think he'd like to but he should check to see if we're about to reach his destination, right, Lando?" he asked with a sickly sweet smile. "Ah, yes. Pehaps another time milady." Lando said with a smirk before walking towards the cockpit. Anakin shot her a look she couldn't quite figure out before picking his bowl up and walking into the kitchen.

After the ship docked with the smuggler's contact's ship, the two older teens waited patiently by the door inside the docking tube for a few minutes before Kanan and Lando came through and the door closed behind them. "Where's Hera?" Sabine asked as the two stopped. "Tell her about Hera, Lando." Kanan said with a glare. "Hera is following the plan, which is what we should be doing if we want to get her back." the smuggler replied as Zeb entered the docking tube from the _Ghost_'s side and walked up to them. "What plan is she following?" the Jedi asked.

"I told her to take an escape pod." Lando replied. "You never told her that." Kanan protested. "I did, actually. Weren't you paying attention? Besides, Hera strikes me as very capable. We are lucky to have a captain like her." he replied before pushing his crate along the tube before entering the ship with Zeb behind him, who shrugged before the door opened. "I know that. Wait. What do you mean, 'we'?" Kanan questioned with a frown before the door. "Quite a day you're having. First, you lose Chopper, now Hera." Sabine said before Anakin snorted in amusement. "No kidding." he laughed before following after Lando and Zeb.

"In a pod, as discussed. You really should have more faith in our captain." the smuggler said as he, Chopper, the two older teens and Kanan were in the cockpit as they watched Hera's pod fly towards the ship. "Our captain?" Kanan practically growled. "Um, we'll go prep the airlock." Sabine said as she stood and placed a hand on the smuggler's shoulder before leading him out of the cockpit with Anakin and Chopper behind them. The three watched through the outer docking tube door as Hera turned the pod around and backed up before it locked against the ship. Anakin helped her out before Sabine contacted Kanan on the ship's com. "Kanan, Hera's aboard." she said.

"We should probably make ourselves scarce." the smuggler added before Sabine turned the com off. "You played that perfectly. Thank you." Lando complimented Hera. "Oh, you're welcome." she replied with a fake smile and nice tone before punching him in the groin. Both teens flinched. "Right in the family jewels, that's gotta hurt." Anakin said as Sabine nodded in agreement and the smuggler coughed a bit. "I deserved that. But can we get back to the job at hand flying us past the Imperial blockade. Otherwise, I don't have to pay you or give your droid back." he said, voice a bit higher at the beginning. "What was in that crate?" Hera asked sternly. "Come on. I'll show you." he replied before gesturing them to follow as they walked towards the door leading into the ship.

Just as they entered the ship, the three saw a puffer pig run by followed by Ezra. "That's what was in the crate." Lando said as it ran around the ladder leading to the roof gun. The pig bumped into Chopper before avoiding the kid's attempt to catch it. "Grab that puffer pig, but don't scare her." the smuggler warned before the three rounded the corner as Zeb picked her up. "Got her." he said as she struggled in his arms. "You're scaring her! I told you not to scare her." the smuggler said. "I'm not scaring her!" he growled before dropping her as she suddenly inflated to fill part of the hallway, trapping Lando, Hera, Chopper and the two older teens on the side leading to the common room and Kanan, Ezra and Zeb on the side where the cockpit was. "Whoa." both girls said in surprise as the four walked up to the pig.

"You see? You scared her." Lando said, frowning at Zeb as he looked around his puffer pig. "What is going on out here?" Kanan asked as he walked up to Ezra and Zeb. It's a puffer-" Ezra started before the older Jedi cut him off. "I don't wanna know." he said before walking back to the cockpit. A few seconds late Anakin felt the ship jerk a bit, signalling they had just exited hyperspace. "Any idea what the Imperials are hoping to find with this blockade?" Hera asked the smuggler. "Rebels?" he asked with a smirk. "Besides that." she replied. "Unauthorized mining equipment, perhaps." he said.

"And why would they be looking for that?" she asked, already suspecting why. "Maybe because I tried smuggling some here a week ago. Don't worry. The Imperials are scanning for equipment, machinery. But our girl here is 100% organic. Their scanners won't detect her, so long as your ship can mask its signature." he replied, patting the pig. "You know it can't until you ask Chopper to fix it." she told him before he chuckled. "You're catching on." he replied before kneeling down beside the droid. "All right, my little friend. Would you like to be a hero and fix it for me?" he asked before Chopper warbled and left towards the common room.

"Sabine, once we get back to Lothal, I'd love to purchase some of your art." Lando said as Anakin glared at him. "Really? My work. You'd pay?" she asked, sounding skeptical before the puffer pig suddenly squealed and inflated a bit more, knocking the two adults and teen to ground. Anakin picked himself up before helping Sabine up first then Hera before the Mandalorian girl climbed the ladder to the roof gun and blasted at the TIEs chasing.

A few minutes later they managed to give the Imperials the slip before Kanan descended to the planet and landed near Lando's farm. After putting their helmets on, the two in Mandalorian armor, smuggler, Chopper and rest of the Ghost crew exited the ship after deflating the pig. "This time, try to keep it calm. We don't want you inflating it again." Ezra said to Zeb with a smirk. "Hey, it wasn't my fault." he defended. "It's your face's fault." the kid replied, smirk still on his face.

"This is your land?" Hera asked the smuggler. "Bought if off a charming fellow named Vizago." he replied. "Perfect. But why was it so important to get this pig here?" she asked. "Because a puffer pig has a nose for precious minerals. It can do the job of a dozen mining scanners." Lando explained. "And the Empire doesn't want private landholders mining Lothal." she said as they stopped on his farm. "We're done here. Pay us, and we'll be on our way." Kanan said.

Before Lando could reply a male Jablogian with a blaster and five pirates surrounded them. "He has other debts to pay." he snarled walking towards them. "Azmorigan?" the smuggler asked sounding surprised. "Did you forget I introduced you to Vizago, huh? I knew where you were headed." the Jablogian replied. "But your ship- You couldn't have hidden it anywhere close. Did you... walk here? You don't walk anywhere." Lando said in disbelief. "Well, I do what's necessary... to claim my property, Calrissian." Azmorigan shot back. "What do you want?" Hera asked him.

"My demands are simple. I want my pig back... and you. Plus this ship and this crew as compensation for my sore feet. But first- first, I want to bury Calrissian." he snarled as Lando stepped back a bit. "Yeah, yeah, I understand the feeling. But no." Hera replied. "Now, wait. Let's consider that last demand for a sec." Kanan said as moved the smuggler from standing in front of him. "Yeah, I'm with Kanan on this." Anakin spoke up in agreement as the Jablogian grumbled for a moment.

"I've run out of patience! Get them!" he ordered his men as they all opened fire before the rebels, merc and smuggler returned it as they ran for cover. "Chopper, don't hide there! It's a fuel canister!" Sabine warned him as she, Anakin and Zeb shot from their cover behind some crates. Anakin pulled the trigger on his right DC-17, getting a headshot. "Nice shot, Anakin." she complimented with a smile behind her helmet. "I try." he replied with a shrug. "Could you two get a room later and keep shooting now?" Zeb asked in annoyance as the teens blushed before opening fire again.

"Zeb. The pig! Scare it!" Hera yelled from where she and Lando had taken cover as the pig ran over to the two older teens and Lasat were. "What? How?" he asked in exasperation. Just be _you_." she replied before he lowered to the pig's level as she looked at him and squealed. "Hey, pig!" he growled before she squealed and inflated. The puffer pig floated over to two pirates and knocked them down. The Mandalorian girl shrugged at her friends before running over and using the speeder then the pig to jump onto the roof of Lando's house, Anakin behind her.

Zeb shot a pirate that tried shooting Chopper as the droid pushed a fuel canister up the ramp of the ship and into the cargo hold before Sabine and the merc shot the crates in front of two pirates, forcing them to drop their blasters and raise their hands in surrender. "New terms: I get Calrissian, and this one lives. I get Calrissian, and you all can go free." Azmorigan said, holding Zeb hostage as everyone stood up from their cover. "You got it." Ezra replied. "Deal." Kanan said. "He's all yours." Anakin added before Sabine smacked him lightly on the arm. "Ow! it's not okay to hit!" he whined, rubbing his arm.

"It's tempting, but the answer's still 'no'." Hera replied to the Jablogian before he and Zeb were suddenly blown of their feet by a blast from the ship's nose gun. Zeb recoverd first and grabbed his rifle before aiming it at Azmorigan then saluting Chopper. "My terms: You and your men leave now, and we let you live. Start walking." Hera said with a smirk before he whimpered in fear after Zeb kicked him. Sabine shot at the feet of the two pirates, forcing them to catch up with their boss. Anakin jumped off the house before turning and holding his arms out just as she jumped down and he caught her. The merc set her down before they walked up to the others.

"I think you have a problem now. You don't have the credits you owe us, do you?" Hera asked the smuggler. "But I will once my baby's worked her magic." he replied kneeling down to pat the deflated puffer pig. "You mean, if she finds what you're looking for and you've mined and smuggled it off-world?" she asked. "I can give you back your droid." he replied as said droid warbled. "That won't satisfy your debt to me. Not after what you pulled." she stated, pointing at him as he stood. "Then how about we settle that debt with a little game of sabacc?" he asked with a smile. "Then you'll just have to owe me one." she replied before the crew and merc started walking towards the ship.

"Oh, come on. I saved your circuits. Isn't that apology enough?" Zeb asked in exasperation as Chopper blew a mechanical raspberry at him. "So that's it? We just walk away without the creds?" Kanan asked as they walked up the ramp and into the cargo hold. "Well, we got Chopper back." she said with a smile. "I'm looking for a positive here." he replied. "There are a lot of things we couldn't accomplish without him. You should appreciate that more." she said. "I always appreciated you, Sabine." Ezra said to her as she removed her helmet. "Yes, Ezra, I know." she replied dryly with an eye role he couldn't see since the kid was behind her.

"Course, we still need food and fuel." Hera said before Chopper warbled and pushed the fuel canister out from behind the crates Ezra was sitting on earlier that day. "Oh, hey, Chopper stole Lando's fuel!" Sabine said with a smirk. "You mean he was playing Lando the whole time? Good job, Chopper." Zeb congratulated as the droid whooped and the rest congratulated him as well.

**Chapter 8 done.**


	9. Vision of Hope

Anakin watched as Ezra practice deflecting stun bolts from Sabine, Zeb and Chopper with his lightsaber and cadet helmet on to try hitting the stromtrooper helm sitting on a rock. The only reason he the merc wasn't helping was because his dad had removed the stun setting from all four of his DC blasters in order to increase the damage output and fire more shots before needing to recharge. _'Kid's got it easy. My dad shot _real _bolts at me during my training and much to my mother's horror when she found out.' _Anakin chuckled as he remembered the first time she found out and how she had scolded his dad non-stop for an hour.

"You've got the blocking down for the most part, but you shouldn't just randomly deflect the energy any which way. You've yet to hit the target I gave you." Kanan said. "'Yet'! Key word is 'yet.'" he replied, avoiding two shots from Sabine. The older Jedi groaned slightly before gesturing for them to hold fire as he walked up to the younger teen while the Lasat and Mandalorian holstered their blasters. "You're distracted, impatient. What's your rush?" he asked as Ezra sighed and opened the front of his cadet helm. "I don't want to miss Senator Trayvis' transmission." he answered.

"You don't even know if he'll transmit today." the older man pointed out. "He's been on more frequencies lately, and I have a feeling. Today's the day." the kid replied. "Well I have a feeling you're going to get stunned if you don't start paying attention." Anakin piped up. "Exactly. So how about you focus on _this_ moment." Kanan chastised before the kid groaned slightly and reactivated his saber before closing the faceplate on his helm. The three opened fire on him again as he started dodging ad deflecting with a few shots actually close to his target.

The kid opened his faceplate again and looked around before narrowly blocking a bolt. Anakin was a bit surprised when he started redirecting all of them towards the helmet before fainting.. The five quickly ran over to him before Kanan kneeled to check on the kid and remove his helmet. Ezra gasped in surprise after regaining consciousness before the older Jedi helped him sit up. "I got stunned, didn't I?" he asked. "No, you deflected every blast back at the target." he replied, sounding impressed, while gesturing to the smoking trooper helmet on the ground.

"I saw something." Ezra said. "Saw? You had a vision?" the older Jedi asked in surprise. "I saw Gall Trayvis. Kanan, he knew my parents! It was so real..." the kid said as Kanan helped him up. "You were there, and- and you were there, sneaking around in the dark. Troopers were everywhere." he said, looking at Kanan then the two older teens. "Sounds like a pretty average day." Anakin replied as Sabine nodded. "Except... Senator Trayvis was there, fighting side by side with us. And he said he knew my parents!" the young Jedi said as he took a few steps forward.

"Right. Look, Ezra, just because you want something to happen doesn't mean it's going to." Kanan said, folding his arms. "But it might." he replied before Zeb gave him a light smack on the back of the head after he turned around. "Ow! What are you doing?" he asked the Lasat in annoyance while rubbing the back of his head. "Helping you to hone your Jedi powers. Why didn't you see that coming?" he asked with a smile and laugh. "Doesn't work that way." Ezra replied with a small glare as Zeb and Kanan walked back to the the ship.

"Ow! Stop!" he exclaimed as Sabine punched him in the shoulder while she and Anakin passed him. "Maybe if we keep trying." she said with a smirk. "Ezra, hurry! He's on!" Hera called from the ramp before he started running to the ship. "That's not how the Force works." Anakin said to the two non Force-sensitives. "How do you know?" Zeb asked with a brow raised. "Because I've studied it." he replied simply before they entered the ship and their way to the common room.

"_The insurgents terrorizing our world will soon be brought to justice. I have assurances from-_" the recording of Minister Tua was suddenly cut off as hologram of Trayvis' picture appeared. "_Citizens, Senator-in-exile Gall Trayvis here._" he said. "Right on time!" Ezra said before Hera shushed him. "_Coming to you with a reminder that the Empire applies the term 'insurgent' to anyone who dares defy their tyranny, such as some very courageous souls on Lothal._" he added. "He's talking about us. He said Lothal." the kid said in excitement. "Does he come with an 'mute' button?" Anakin whispered to Sabine from where they sat on the seat behind the holotable. "I wish." she whispered back.

"I know. Here it comes." Hera replied to the younger teen, sounding a bit annoyed by his interruptions. "_To those rebels, I have a message: The sun may have set on the Old Republic, but a new freedom can be won... if we are brave enough to fight for it today. See you soon, my friends._" Trayvis said before his transmission changed back to the news. "_In other news, Lothal's mines are-_" the broadcaster started before Hera turned it off. "He's coming here to meet us." Hera realized. "Uh, how do you know that?" Zeb asked, sounding skeptical. "My contact, Fulcrum, says the senator hides coded messages in his transmissions. When Trayvis mentions a world, it's always the next one he visits." she explained.

"How come the Empire hasn't caught him?" Kanan asked. "Trayvis is too smart. You know, he pirates the Empire's own signal, just like my folks used to." Ezra said. "And the clues he puts in his messages where to meet him are obvious to the locals, but go right over the Empire's head. Watch." she said before turning the recording back on. "The sun may have set on the Old Republic, but a new freedom can be won-" the recording said before she turned it off again. "He said 'the Old Republic' and 'a new freedom'." the captain said.

"Well, everybody on Lothal knows the New Freedom mural. It's painted on the wall in- inside... the Old Republic Senate building!" he realized with a grin before Sabine brought up a hologram of the building. "Hmm. Been abandoned since the Empire built the Imperial complex. Good place for a friendly get-together." she said before turning the hologram off. "Yeah, but when's this meeting?" Zeb asked. "Uh, he worked sunset' and 'today' into his message. Pretty obvious." Ezra replied with an eye roll the Lasat couldn't see since he was standing behind the kid.

"Yeah, too obvious. We should have some insurance, in case the Empire is more clever than we think." Kanan said. "You've got a friend inside the Imperial complex, right? So find out for sure." Hera said to the younger Jedi. "I'll meet you at my- at my parents' house at 1700." he replied as he grabbed his helmet before Kanan stopped him. "Ezra. About your vision. Don't be too quick-" he started before the kid cut him off. "To take it literally? Kanan, I know it's right. You're always telling me to trust my feelings. Well, I've never felt stronger about anything in my life." Ezra replied before leaving. "Vision?" Hera asked the older man as everyone else left.

Around 5 p.m the merc and rebels waited patiently inside the bunker in Ezra's old home for him to arrive after getting the information they needed. "It's pretty old. He said his parents used it to broadcast from." Sabine explained while gesturing to the broadcast device while Hera worked on it. "I don't get it. They weren't soldiers, just citizens. So why'd they risk it all?" Zeb asked, referring to Ezra's parents. "They had hope. That they could do something to make the galaxy a better place for their son." Hera replied as Ezra slid down the ladder and Sabine cleared her throat to alert everyone to him.

"Cutting it a little close. I know you don't want to miss Trayvis' meeting." the Mandalorian girl said to him. "Neither does the Empire. Neither does the Empire. And you were right, Kanan. They know where the meeting is. Kallus has an operation planned- probably to capture Trayvis... or worse." the kid said. "The Imperials will have numbers." the Lasat said. "We'll have surprise." Kanan said with a smirk. "What gives you that idea?" Sabine asked. "I'm being optimistic." he replied.

The next morning Anakin and the rebels staked out the old Senate building from a walkway outside the building while crouching behind the railing. The two in Mandalorian armor lowered their rangefinder antennas to view a landing platform near the top of the old building. "There's a dignitary shuttle and two protocol droids on the platform. Trayvis must already be inside. I'm not seeing any Imperial forces. Anakin?" Sabine explained, raising her antenna before asking him. "Hmm... Not seeing anything either." he replied before raising his then looking over the edge of the railing.

"Well, they gotta be around." Kanan said before using his macrobinoculars to look around. "Yeah, I found them. Looks like they have the whole area locked down." he added before lowering the binoculars. "We've gotta get Trayvis outta there before the Empire moves in." Ezra said. "Wait. Why haven't they moved in?" Hera questioned. "They want us too. It's a trap." Kanan replied as Sabine took off her helmet. "So maybe we don't walk into it for once." Anakin suggested. "We don't even know for sure your precious senator is in there." Zeb added.

"Yes, we do. I saw it." Ezra insisted. "If we can get up there without being seen, maybe we fly him out on his own ship." Kanan said. "I know a way in. No one will see us." the kid assured before the Mandalorian girl gave him a skeptical brow raise. "Hey, I survived alone against the Empire for eight years. Come on." he replied with a smirk, gesturing for them to follow.

Chopper warbled as they rounded the corner to a sewer entrance before said droid pushed an R-series into the open hole. The droid let out a series of beeps as they heard it crash into several things before stopping and letting out a weak whirring beep. Chopper let out a triumphant chirp before Zeb kneeled by the hole and sniffed. "Ugh. That's a sewer pipe." he said, groaning in disgust as the others walked up to it. "Yes, it is. And I can pretty much guarantee... we're not gonna run into any stormtroopers down there." Ezra assured before he started climbing down followed by Hera then Zeb after he let out a sigh.

"Terrific." Sabine said sarcastically as she started climbing down after Anakin. Once everyone besides Chopper was in the pipe, Ezra started leading them through it. "Used to be too much water to walk down here, but since the Empire started rationing, pretty dry." he explained. "Well, it hasn't helped the smell." the Lasat complained, waving his hand in front of his face. "Speaking of which, it does smell like you." Sabine said. "Hmm?" he replied. "I was talking to Ezra." the Madalorian girl said as she and Anakin high fived. "Wait. You know what I smell like?" the kid asked with a smirk before the merc shoved him. "Get your head out of the gutter, kid." he snapped as they reached the exit near the Senate building.

"What do you think?" Ezra asked the older Jedi as he, Hera and Kanan poked their heads out of the exit after climbing up the ladder. "Better safe than sorry." he replied with a small groan of frustration before Anakin sensed him using the Force. The two older teens and Lasat climbed up after the other three exited before Kanan turned and stopped them. "Hold on. You three, up top." he said quietly to the three before Anakin climbed up first then helped Sabine up as Zeb climbed up by himself. The three carefully made their way across the roof before finding a way in and making their way onto the rafters just above where Trayvis was protected by Kanan and Ezra with their sabers out and Hera with her pistol ready as the three were surrounded by stormtroopers.

The three tossed some smoke bombs before the two teens lowered their antennas to see everyones heat signatures and Zeb dropped down. The Lasat activated his electrostaff before attacking the stormtroopers as the teens opened fire on the troopers. After the others got out and the teens dropped down and Sabine tossed a thermal detonator before the two ran out the exit. Anakin took cover around the corner with the others first before grabbing Sabine's hand as she nearly slid off the edge when passing them. The merc pulled her to the side protectively as the detonator went off. "Thanks." she replied softly. "You're welcome." he replied just as softly. "Sabine, I..." he trailed off before the two were snapped out of their moment as Hera spoke.

"Was really hoping that shuttle would still be here." she said before an Imperial landing craft ascended from below where Trayvis' shuttle was earlier. "And that's not the ride we're looking for." Kanan said before it opened fire and they ran back the sewer entrance. Sabine pressed a button on her wrist computer before the sewer door opened. "You want me to go in there?" Trayvis asked. "It's not so bad once you get used to the smell." Ezra assured. "You never get used to the smell." Zeb joked before a blaster bolt flew overhead and they turned to see Kallus and two troopers running towards them.

"Go!" Kanan exclaimed as he and Ezra ignited their blades and started deflecting bolts before Zeb helped the senator onto the ladder. Hera followed next, then Anakin and Sabine. _'Nice view.'_. Zeb slid down last and after a few more seconds the Jedi jumped down before Sabine closed it just as Kallus reached the entrance. The group ran for a moment before Trayvis stopped to catch his breath. "Yes, I'm- I'm coming." he assured, panting heavily. "Ezra, wait up." Hera said to him as he and the other stopped. "Sorry, Senator. We just wanna get out of here as fast as we can." the kid said to him.

"I am the one who should apologize, my young friend. I've been pursued, but never in such a place as this." he replied, still catching his breath as he gestured to the sewer pipe they were in. "Figured you'd be used to running from the Empire." Kanan said to him as he walked up behind Ezra. "Well, I- I've never come this close to capture before." he replied before two stormtroopers rounded the corner where they'd just come from and opened fire. The group took cover at a four-way intersection, with Kanan, the two older teens and Lasat on one side and Hera, Ezra and Trayvis on the other.

"We'll draw them away! Get Spectre-2 and Trayvis to the hatch." Kanan ordered the kid as more stormtroopers appeared before Anakin shot one with his DC-15A. "Wait. How will you find us?" he asked as Kanan and Zeb took off down the pipe on their team's right. "I can smell you, remember?" Sabine replied dryly. "Oh." he said with a smirk, looking like he wanted to say something else before Hera cut him off. "Think of something clever to say later. Move!" she ordered before she, Ezra and Trayvis ran down the pipe they were in. "Why do you encourage him?" Anakin asked Sabine as they ran down the pipe to catch up with the older man and Lasat. "I don't do it on purpose." she replied as they killed three more troopers. "Oh for-!" he cut himself off with a grumble.

"Spectre-5, do you actually know where we're going?" Kanan asked her as she, him and Anakin reached another four-way. "Of course I do." she replied, pressing a few buttons on her computer. "Sorta." she added quietly before pointing to the right. The three ducked as a blast flew over their heads and they started running again before Zeb reached the intersection. "Zeb, this way!" the merc called out behind him and the Lasat made a quick turn as more bolts flew behind him. "As much as I hate this mission it could be worse." Anakin said as they kept running. "How could it be worse?" Kanan asked him. "We could be running through sewage." he replied before Sabine groaned in disgust. "Oh! Why did you have to put that thought in my head?" she complained before he shrugged in reply.

A few minutes later the group exited the small pipe and jumped down into a bigger one with a huge fan and where Hera, Ezra and apparently unconscious senator were. "What happened to the senator?" Zeb asked as he and the other three walked up to the senator and their friends. "He was working for the Empire." Hera replied. "Is there anybody on our side?" Sabine asked, sounding annoyed. "So guess he stays here. What's our plan?" Anakin asked the Twi'lek. "We were gonna stop the fan to get through." she replied, gesturing to it with a nod.

"Okay, but what will keep our friends from following?" Sabine asked her. "We only stop it long enough for us to get past it. Cover me." Kanan said before walking up to the fan and holding his hand out. The others readied their blasters while Ezra ignited his saber. "Incoming!" Ezra warned as Kallus and a few troopers appeared at the entrances of the two smaller pipes and opened fire. "Move rebels!" Hera ordered as they made their way through the stopped fan one by one. "Not a rebel!" Anakin said as he jumped through. "Ezra, let's go!" Kanan yelled before he and the kid jumped through just as the fan started moving again.

Kanan stabbed his saber through the sewer door they had first entered when the it wouldn't open before he poked his head out. The droid complained as everyone exited the sewer, the two older teens last. "Hey, you're supposed to be glad to see us." Kanan replied as the droid warbled again before they all quickly left. Night had fallen once more by the time they had made it back to the _Ghost_. The two older teens returned to their room before getting ready for sleep.

"Hey, Anakin?" she asked him after removing her armor and leaving her in her bodysuit. "What's up?" he asked, turning to face her after having removed his armor as well. "What is it you wanted to say after my detonator went off?" she asked, sitting on her bed on the other side of the room. "Hmm... I don't really remember since that shuttle attacked us." he replied with a shrug. "Oh, okay." she said.

The merc could sense some sadness coming off her as she got into her bed. Anakin wanted to ask her about it but his sudden shyness prevented him from speaking and instead he walked over to the door panel and pressed the button for the room's light, bathing it in darkness before making his way back over to his bed and getting in. _'Even though it probably wasn't the best time, I still should've confessed to her earlier today.' _he chastised himself before trying to fall asleep.

**Chapter 9 done.**


	10. Call to Action

Anakin, Sabine and the two Jedi sped along the plains of Lothal on speeder bikes as they were chased by AT-DP troops on bikes and a troop transport after stealing a crate that was now attached to the Mandalorian girl's bike. "Aren't we headed the wrong way?" Ezra asked Kanan. "Don't want to lead 'em back to the ship. Follow me." he replied before they entered the town of Jalath. The two older teens quickly made a right as one pursuer followed them before crashing into one wall then another before his bike exploded. "These guys suck at driving as much as they do at shooting." Anakin joked earning a laugh from Sabine.

A few minutes later the two caught up with the Jedi as three more troopers were chasing them. The four zoomed into an alley before dismounting and knocking out the two that followed them. The four pushed the two bikes into a different alley before climbing up to a roof and waiting a few minutes before the lead biker entered the alley with his blaster ready.

The trooper stumbled back in surprise when he noticed the two dispatched troopers before Ezra cleared his throat and caught his attention. The kid quickly shot a stun blast at the trooper before he fell down unconscious. "Told you that would work." Ezra said with a smirk as Kanan jumped down. "You're finally getting the hang of this. There's hope for you yet." Sabine said as she and Anakin jumped down after the older Jedi before Ezra followed.

The three returned to the ship an hour later and entered the common room just as the HoloNews was broadcasting a hologram of Trayvis and a journalist. "_Senator Trayvis, now that you've recommitted yourself to the Empire, will your followers do the same?_" the broadcaster asked. "_Most will, Alton. These were good people who simply wanted to make the Empire a better place peacefully. But I'm afraid these insurgents have twisted my message into something violent and frightening. Of course, I can't abide that. So I'm personally offering a reward for their capture-_" the senator said before Hera shut it off as the two in Mandalorian armor removed their helmets.

"Still makes me sick to think that Trayvis is working for the Empire." the Twi'lek said. "Every time we win, we lose." Ezra said sounding hopeless. "Well, I have a plan that might just even the score. If Trayvis can do it, we can do it too." Kanan said as he placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder reassuringly. "What, we're gonna send out some kind of inspirational type messages?" Zeb asked with a smirk, thinking he was joking. "Exactly." he replied before the Lasat looked at Hera. "Exactly." she agreed with a smile. "Um, I don't get it." Sabine said, sounding confused.

"You do realize we can't just send a signal, right? The Empire would just track in a half a second." Anakin pointed out. "Not if the signal comes from one of its own towers." the older man replied. "Ah. Now I get it." Sabine realized with a smile after snapping her finger. "You- You want to take control of an Imperial communications tower, which is pretty much impossible, and then you want to use it to send a message to the people of Lothal?" Ezra asked sounding skeptical. "Not just Lothal. One of those big towers can reach a few systems." he replied.

"That's a crazy plan." Ezra said as he walked forward. "That's why you like it." the older Jedi replied as the younger teen turned to face him. "And what would we say in this message?" he asked. "Something the Empire never says: the truth. We have to let people know what it's really like out here. Now, are you in?" Kanan asked him as the kid took a moment to think before returning the smile. "Count me in." he replied.

The next morning Anakin, Sabine, and the two Jedi laid prone on the arch above the highway leading towards Lothal's main communications center. "There it is. The Empire's main communications tower on Lothal. It routes comm from every Imperial operation on the planet, including the Empire's Holonet broadcasts." Kanan explained before Sabine stood to one knee and lowered her antenna to survey the area. "I got bucketheads on the perimeter and at least three anti-ship batteries around the base. Not an easy trip to the front door." she informed them. "Don't underestimate yourself, Sabine. You'll find us a way, so let's be optimistic shall we? Say we get to the front door." Anakin said.

"Thanks, Anakin. I suppose I could upload a data spike into the central computer and have that transmitter operational in I don't know, five minutes?" she replied, smiling behind her helmet. "He said be optimistic." Ezra spoke up. "Five minutes is optimistic." she replied, sounding a bit annoyed. "Three would be better." Kanan said. Hey. You can have it good or you can have it fast." she said, still sounding annoyed. "All right. Scan us a holomap and let's get out of here." Kanan said before they quickly laid back down as a troop transport sped by underneath them.

After it passed an Imperial probe droid detached from the back before the two older teens lowered their antennas and viewed it with their rangefinders. "I don't like the look of that thing." the older man said as he looked at it through his macrobinoculars. "An Imperial probe droid." the Mandalorian girl said. "Does it see us?" the kid asked. "Not yet." she answered. "How can you tell?" he asked as she raised her antenna before Anakin did the same. "Because we're not dead." she replied as they all laid against arch as low as they could.

"We need to move." Kanan said quietly as they crouched and turned around before moving to the other side. The four laid prone again as they watched the droid float while turning it's dome. "Um, hate to mention this, but where are the bikes?" Ezra asked. "Next to the road." Kanan answered. "Right were that thing will see them." Ezra said. "Hope somebody's got an idea, or this whole plan is shot." the Mandalorian girl said sounding worried before the young Jedi used the Force to summon with a loth-cat to attack the droid. After a few seconds of scrapping the droid crashed into ground, rendering it disabled before the cat hissed at it.

The four stood up after the cat jumped back into the grass. "I could have blasted it and gotten that result." Sabine said as she folded her arms. "Yeah, but then the Empire would suspect something was up." Ezra pointed out before Kanan patted his shoulder twice before resting it there. "Good thinking, Padawan." he praised. "Okay. It's touching when you two bond, but I'm betting that probe has friends, so let's move it." Sabine said. The four slid off the side of the arch and jumped on their bikes before taking off.

Back on the ship the merc and rebels minus Kanan were now in the common room. "If it works, we should be able to use this to transmit directly through the tower." Ezra said as he, Hera and Sabine fixed up his parent's broadcaster. "How we doing?" Kanan asked as he entered the room. "Well, Chopper has the spike. We get him into the tower and he can upload it right into the computer core from any terminal." Sabine explained as she handed him the spike and he hid it inside himself before she folded her arms and smiled. "Stop complaining, bolt-brain. You have the easy job." Zeb said to the droid as he warbled.

"What's the range of this spike?" Kanan asked her. "As long as the tower is transmitting, we're good to go. Everyone will hear what we say. Well, anyone who's listening." she replied. "Once the spike is uploaded, we'll signal." he said to Hera while folding his arms. "And I spirit you away in the _Phantom_." Hera replied. "That's the plan." the older Jedi said.

"And things always go according to plan, right?" Sabine asked sarcastically. "She's right about that." Ezra said glumly as Kanan unfolded his arms. "What's with you?" he asked his apprentice. "Nothing." the kid replied, trying to brush the conversation off. "Let's take a walk." Kanan suggested before Ezra stood up and the two walked into the hallway leading to the cockpit.

Later that night the team attacked the tower with Sabine leading as she drove a speeder bike with a canister of rhydonium attached to the back before diving off and watching it explode and kill a stormtrooper. Anakin was right behind her and commandeered an anti-ship cannon before shooting the group of troopers near the console before Kanan hopped over it. "Okay, Anakin, Sabine, three minutes." he said while pressing a button and turning the alarm off. "Chopper, install the spike." she said while crouching down as he inserted the spike into a port in front of the console.

"What? They're here? That's impossible." Kanan said in disbelief as a warning went off before he ran outside while the teens ran around the console and got to work. "_Guys, we got targets incoming, Let's move!_" he said urgently over their coms. "You said we'd get three minutes." Anakin protested. "_Well, now you get one, so hurry up!_" he ordered before Chopper warbled and Sabine scoffed. "Yeah, you and me both." she agreed. A few minutes later the spike was done and the droid pulled it out. "Okay, we got a signal. It worked. Let's go." she said urgently before they quickly ran to the exit.

"Not this way. Back inside." Kanan said quickly as they exited the array while Zeb and Ezra got off the kid's bike. "Are you crazy?" the Mandalorian girl asked in disbelief. "Take the lift. Hera will meet you at the top." he replied before the two older teens and Chopper ran back into the building, Ezra and Zeb catching up a few seconds later. "Where's Kanan?" the kid asked after reaching the top and looking over the railing to see him surrounded by the Inquisitor, Kallus and stormtroopers before ducking to avoid blaster fire from three troopers on a gunship that flew up to them and turned.

The group minus Chopper raised their arms in surrender as the searchlight shone on them and the troopers kept their guns aimed before Sabine suddenly tossed a thermal detonator onto the ship. The four watched as it exploded and the gunship spiral out of control before crashing on the ground and exploding. The _Phantom_ soon arrived and turned before the back opened to allow everyone to jump in. "_Spectre-2, get out of here!_" Kanan ordered over the shuttle's com as cannon blasts exploded around them. "Not an option, Kanan." she refused. "_No time! Go!_" he urged. "We can't!" Ezra protested. "_Hera!_" the older Jedi pleaded before she reluctantly closed the door and took off.

Back on the ship Ezra started his broadcast just as the sun began to rise and the others watched him. "We have been called criminals, but we are not. We are rebels, fighting for the people, fighting for you. I'm not that old, but I remember a time when things were better on Lothal. Maybe not great, but never like this. See what the Empire has done to your lives, your families and your freedom? It's only gonna get worse... unless we stand up and fight back. It won't be easy. There will be loss and sacrifice. But we can't back down just because we're afraid. That's when we need to stand the tallest. That's what my parents taught me. That's why my new family helped me remember. Stand up together. Because that's when we're strongest- as one." he said before getting static.

"Was it worth it? You think anybody heard?" he asked the others. "I have a feeling they did." Hera replied softly. "This isn't over." he said with determination. "No it isn't." she agreed with equal determination.

**Chapter 10 is ****complete.**


	11. Rebel Resolve

The merc and rebels, minus Hera and of course Kanan waited on two differnt building across from each other as an AT-DP walker passed between them. The Mandalorian girl signalled Ezra then Zeb who both caught up with the walker before jumping on top of it. The two teens watched as Zeb opened the hatch then tossed one trooper out as Ezra jumped in before the walker stumbled a bit a few seconds later. The teens caught up just in time to see three stormtroopers shooting at Zeb who was still standing on the walker before shooting at the troops from above and drawing their fire away from the Lasat as Chopper flew over to the walker and lowered in.

"What the hell are they doing in there?" Anakin wondered out loud as the walker walked around in circles around the troopers shooting at the Zeb and two teens before said Lasat tossed another trooper out of it and he landed on the commander trooper. Just as Ezra seemed to get control of the walker and had it moving down the street again, Anakin and Sabine ran after it before jumping on. Chopper warbled something as the two teen dropped in one after the other. "No connection? That's impossible. The entire system would have to be down." Sabine replied. "Well, they did blow up their own comm tower." Zeb reminded as looked down into the walker for a moment.

"They must have taken down their entire data network." she said, sounding frustrated. "How are we gonna find out where they've got Kanan now?" the kid asked, sounding just as frustrated. "Walker 693, stand down. Repeat, stand down." a trooper ordered over the walker's com. "Whoa! Spectre-2, we need a pickup." Sabine said over her wrist com as they took a blast from behind. "Shit! Must be another walker." the merc realized. "Zeb, you alright up there?" he yelled. "I'm fine, it hit the hatch!" he yelled back. "_I read you, Spectre-5. Rendezvous at the town's western border._" the Twi'lek replied before they took another blast. "Whoa! Hate to be the pessimist, Ezra, but how do we even know-'" the Mandalorian girl started before the Jedi cut her off. "He's alive, Sabine. I know it." he said with conviction.

"Ezra! I can't get a shot if you keep running from them." Sabine exclaimed after getting in the gunner's seat behind his as Anakin climbed up to the roof to help Zeb. "How's it looking?" he asked, crouching and readying his DC-15A. "Bad! There's another walker over there!" he exclaimed while gesturing to the right with his head. Anakin looked in that direction to indeed see another AT-DP. "As much as I hate them, I kinda wish you'd brought that T-7!" the Lasat said as the two ducked a shot from the walker behind them. "I'm beginning to agree with you!" Anakin replied as he tried shooting the other walker.

"Use the rear cannon." Ezra said to the Mandalorian girl. "This is no rear cannon!" she exclaimed. "Hey, we're doing the best we can!" Zeb defended himself and the merc before a shot from the walker behind theirs knocked Zeb back causing him to crash into Anakin and knock him onto his back before the Lasat fell over the front. Luckily he managed to grab the top of the walker, of course now he was blocking Ezra's view. "I can't see! Move!" Ezra yelled to him as Anakin recovered. "Move? Move where?" Zeb yelled back. "Anywhere!" the kid yelled back as the merc grabbed the Lasat's wrist before they both put effort into getting him back onto the roof.

"Just keep it walking in a straight line. Hera's incoming. Everyone up top! You too, Chop. Let it go." Sabine said as the merc helped her out before Ezra. The four nearly stumbled right off the walker as the one behind hit them again before it was suddenly destroyed by the _Phantom_. Hera flew the shuttle just directly ahead of them before the back opened and they jumped in. "Chopper!" Ezra exclaimed when he remembered the droid was still in the walker "He's still searching for Kanan. Go get him."

Sabine said to Zeb, her tone sounding worried before the Lasat jumped back onto the walker then reached inside and pulled the droid out. Zeb managed to jump into shuttle just as both enemy walkers destroyed the one they had stolen before Hera took off toward the plains. "How'd it go?" she asked Ezra as the older teens removed their helmets and set them on one of the two back seats. "It didn't." he replied in a defeated tone

Back on the ship the teens and Lasat sat around a hologram of the planet in the common room while Hera was off talking to Fulcrum in her room and Chopper was off somewhere else. "Odds are they've still got him at the Imperial Complex." Sabine said. "If they do, we all know he's as good as gone." Zeb replied. "He's not gone. And he's not in the Imperial Complex." Ezra spoke up after opening his eyes and taking a few step away.. "How do you know that?" the Lasat asked him. "I just know." he answered before Sabine turned the hologram off.

"We can't make a plan based on a feeling." she rationalized. "Yes, we can. We do it all the time!" he insisted as Hera entered the room. "Not this time." she said, walking up to them. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "We can't go after Kanan. The Empire will be waiting with a trap." she explained. "When has that ever stopped us?" he retorted. "We can't risk it." she replied as Sabine and Zeb sighed deeply. "Can't, or won't?" the young Jedi asked, frowning at her back.

"Ezra, there's a bigger mission you're not seeing. It can't be jeopardized for one soldier." she explained as he folded his arms. "'Soldier'? He's our friend, Hera. I can't just forget him. And I can't believe you would either. He'd do whatever it took to protect us." he shot back before she turned to face him. "He already did when he sacrificed himself. Ezra, he'd want us to honor the choice he made." she said said gently while placing a hand on his shoulder. The kid pulled his shoulder free before leaving the room.

Hera, Zeb, Anakin and Sabine were now in the cockpit as Hera prepared to start the ship before Chopper entered the room. "Why prepare to fight if we're not even going after Kanan?" Zeb questioned. "You think he'll talk, tell 'em what he knows about us?" Sabine asked. "He doesn't know anything." Hera answered sadly before the Sabine's com came on. "_Sabine. Uh, where are the power cells? I need some for my lightsaber._" Ezra asked her before she groaned in annoyance.

"Did you check the overheads?" she asked, sounding annoyed as she stood from her seat. "_First place I looked._" he replied. "Hold on. I know where to find some. Chopper, take over for me. You can help us look too, Zeb." she said before he scoffed. "Really? Why do I need to-" he started before she smacked him lightly on the arm. Anakin stood and followed them out the door. _'Man... the old me never would have done a job for free. Must be going soft hanging around them all the time.'_

"Is Chopper in position?" Ezra asked Sabine as the three walked into the shuttle. "Yep. Let me in there." she replied before he got out of the seat and she sat down. "Wait, you're going to find Kanan. You're disobeying Hera's orders!" the Lasat realized. "Were they orders, or more like her opinion?" Sabine asked, resting an arm over the chair and turning to face him.

"If we're gonna save him, we don't have a choice. You with us or not?" Ezra asked. "Yeah, I'm with you." he agreed as she turned back in her seat. "Good, because the plan's in motion already. Just waiting for the signal." Ezra replied. "I'm surprised you're doing this for free." the Lasat said to the merc. "Yeah, well... Hanging around a certain Mandalorian girl has made me go a bit soft." he teased her with a smirk as she returned it before turning her focus back to the window. After a few minutes they got the signal. "Okay. So, where are we going anyway?" she asked the young Jedi. "Our last resort." he replied before she detached the shuttle and took off into the skies of Lothal.

Roughly an hour later Sabine landed the shuttle just outside Vizago's hideout before the four walked up to the crime lord as he noticed them but didn't turn around. "Well, this is unexpected. Looking for work? Or something else?" he asked. "My guess is you already know why we're here." Anakin said. "I don't know where your friend is. I'm sorry." he replied. "You must have heard something." Ezra said as Vizago turned slightly to look at them. "Even if I did know something, it would be of no use to you. The Empire is locking everything down. That's bad for you and bad for business." the Devaronian explained.

"Well, if you want to change that, you need to help us." the kid replied as Vizago faced them fully. "I doubt that. In fact, I think your activities got the Empire's attention and have made things more difficult for me. Get out of here. You're bad luck." he waved them off before turning and starting to walk away. "Ever wonder why the Empire was so interested in Kanan, why they'd send an Inquisitor to Lothal?" the Jedi asked. "Ezra, don't." Sabine interrupted, trying to convince him not to say what she, Zeb and Anakin knew he was about to say. "It's the only way to save Kanan, Sabine." Anakin told her with a comforting squeeze on her shoulder before she slowly nodded.

It seemed to catch the crime lord's attention as he stopped and turned to face them again. "No, please do." he replied, with a small mocking bow. "Because Kanan is a Jedi." the young Jedi said a before the Devaronian remained quite for a moment then laughed as if he'd just been told the funniest joke in his life. "Kanan? A Jedi? You're funny, kid. That scoundrel couldn't be a Jedi any more than you could." he replied still laughing as Ezra used the Force to lift up a crate behind the crime lord and move it so that it was hovering above him.

Vizago stopped laughing when he noticed and took a step back when it was above him before diving out of the way as the kid released it. "You? You are a Jedi?" he asked in surprise. "And so is Kanan." the Jedi replied as the crime lord stood back up. "So what does this mean for Vizago?" he asked. "It means you help me, and you'll have a Jedi owing you a favor." the kid replied.

"Hmm. Whatever I ask?" the Devaronian asked. "Within reason." Ezra replied. "No deal." the crime lord said before turning around and starting to walk back to his ship. "Okay, okay, okay. Whatever you ask." the young Jedi relented before the Devaronian stopped. "All right, come with me, boy. Alone." he replied before continueing towards his ship with Ezra right behind him.

Hera hadn't said much after landing the ship nearby and walking over to the Lasat and teens a few minutes before Ezra came back over to them. "It's okay, guys. I have a lead." the padawan said before Sabine and Zeb took a step away from one another so Ezra could see the Twi'lek. "For what you just bargained, you better have something more than just a lead." she said, clearly angry at them before they all started walking back to the ship.

"Hera, I know you're mad, but-" Ezra tried saying before she abruptly stopped and turned to face him. "Mad? Try furious. You just put all our lives in jeopardy. I give you a direct order, and you disobeyed me." she practically snapped before continueing towards the ship. "Well, it paid off. I know how to find out where Kanan is. Maybe." the padawan replied before she stopped halfway up the ramp and turned to face him again.

"Maybe? All that for 'maybe'?" she asked sounding incredulous as Chopper warbled something from where he stood at the top of the ramp. "Hera, none of us want to give up on Kanan." Ezra replied as she turned back towards the droid. "And you think I do?" Hera asked, sounding offended as she looked over her shoulder. "No, I don't. That's why I took this risk." he explained. The pilot looked at him and the others as they each nodded. "Okay. What did you learn?" she asked the younger teen. "I have a plan, and it involves Chopper." he replied with a smirk.

Night had fallen on the city when the group were ready to enact Ezra's plan. "I'm betting that's the shuttle the Empire's using to get the courier droid to their comm ship. Our only chance is to intercept the droid before it boards the shuttle." Sabine said as an Imperial shuttle descended onto a landing platform above them. "The only way to be sure is to grab the Imperial droid and send Chopper in its place." Ezra said before the droid warbled in protest.

"Come on, Chop. I'll give you a paint job.' Sabine assured. "The Empire won't know the difference." Anakin added before the droid warbled the equivalent of a growl and turned away from them. "For Kanan." the Padawan said. Chopper let out a reluctant warble of agreement.

The two older teens rolled out from an alley just as the droid and four stormtroopers passed by before blasting two of them. "Behind you!" Sabine said to the two remaining troops in a sing-song voice. "Ha, I'm not gonna fall for-" one trooper started to say before Zeb came up from behind and slammed his and the other trooper's heads together.

The Imperial droid let out a few frightened beeps before falling over backwards. The Lasat let out an annoyed sigh before picking the droid back up as Ezra and Chopper came from around the corner ahead of them. "I know you can do this, Chopper." the younger teen assured, patting the droids dome as he warbled before making his way towards th landing pad.

Hera piloted the _Ghost _above Lothal's skies as the others walked into the cockpit with Zeb carrying the Imperial droid before setting him down. The droid kept beeping worriedly as Sabine kneeled in front of him. "Calm down, little guy. We're not gonna hurt you." she assured with a smile as Ezra walked up beside the Twi'lek. "Do you have a lock on Chopper's beacon?" he asked while sitting down in the co-pilot chair. "Looks like he's aboard the cruiser." she replied pressing a few buttons as he sighed.

A few minutes passed before a button on the console started to flash and beep. "There's the signal." Hera said. "He must have found something." the Padawan replied. "Positions, everyone! We're going in." she ordered before Sabine slid down the ladder in the cockpit. "What about this guy?" Zeb asked as the merc sat in the co-pilot seat, ready to help Hera if necessary.

"Take him with you." Ezra said as he ran over to the ladder that lead to the top gun. "Why me?" the Lasat asked. "Because you're intimidating." the teen replied with a smirk before climbing up the ladder. "Can't argue with that." he said with a grin before giving the droid a small growl. "Come on, you." he told it before getting a few beeps in reply as they left the cockpit.

"Gonna make another pass. Chopper better hurry." Hera said as she started turning the ship around. Anakin quickly stopped himself from slamming head first against the console as the ship took a few blasts from the Imperial cruiser. "Zeb, I need some help! Keep their cannons busy!" Hera said urgently.

"There he is." Anakin said a minute later while pointing to the small dot between them and the cruiser. "I see him. Give me cover, Ezra. Okay, Chopper, hit it!" she replied before giving orders to the other two as the droid warbled over the comm. The Twi'lek piloted the ship beside Chopper before spinning upside down to catch him inside the cargo bay. Once he was inside Hera quickly pulled the _Ghost _into a nosedive towards the planet, and just after breaching the atmosphere she pulled up to steady the ship.

A few minutes later after the others entered the cockpit, Anakin walked over to Sabine and Chopper to help them extract the data the droid had downloaded while Hera talked to Ezra. "I think we found something." the Mandalorian girl said to the others as she held up a datapad. "Kanan is on Governor Tarkin's Destroyer, the _Sovereign_. It's still here above Lothal, but it's scheduled to leave soon." she explained.

"Where to?" Hera asked her. "The Mustafar system? I've never heard of it. Hera?" the younger girl asked as Anakin's eyes widened behind his helmet. _'Mustafar? Shit...' _the merc barely managed to suppress a groan of frustration as Hera let out a defeated sigh. "I've only heard that name once. From Kanan. He said Mustafar is where Jedi go to die." she replied, giving them a crestfallen look.

**Chapter 11 done.**


	12. Fire Across the Galaxy

**Five month hiatus... I won't go into detail, but hopefully popping out two chapters one after the other is a start for a good apology.**

Anakin and Sabine stepped out from behind a building on one of Lothal's Imperial complexes just as two stormtroopers passed them. "Missed us, bucketheads?" she asked tauntingly while holding her paint sprayer. "Shall we find out?" Anakin asked, tapping his chin in mock thought. "I think we should." she replied as the two troopers broke out of their confusion and aimed their blasters at the two teens. "It's them!" the left trooper said before they both opened fire.

The two in Mandalorian armor quickly climbed up to the roof of the building beside them and easily avoided getting shot. "Yep, you definitely missed us." Sabine mocked before she and the merc jumped off the side and started running. The two easily avoided blaster fire as the alarm went off and more troops started shooting a them before them before they jumped onto another building.

"You got a little better." the merc mocked as a shot flew over his head before he and Sabine jumped off the building and made their way towards a TIE. The Mandalorian jumped onto one of the troopers then backflipped in the air before making her way up the ladder leading to the TIE's entrance. Anakin used a small Force-jump to land beside her as the transport Ezra and Zeb hijacked a few minutes ago flew over to them.

"But we got a lot better." Sabine mocked before she and Anakin climbed onto one of the wings and started hopping from other TIE wing towards the transport's ramp. "Bye-bye, bucketheads!" she called down from the ramp as Ezra flew the transport away.

After docking with _Ghost _the Lasat and teens walked into the _Ghost_'s main room just as Hera did before gathering around the holotable. "The transport you stole will get us close to the fleet over Mustafar. We know they have Kanan on Tarkin's Star Destroyer." she said after bringing up a hologram of the planet first then one of the Star Destroyer. "And it's surrounded by a bunch of other Star Destroyers." Zeb added as he changed the hologram to show four other Destroyers.

"Uh, lots more. We'll need a distraction to cover our entry. Sabine?" Hera asked as said girl changed the hologram back to Tarkin's ship. "Engine room's here. All the power for the ship. If we could get inside the docking bay, I could rig something, black 'em out. But our transport ship's not gonna fit in there." she explained, pointing to the back than the front. of the ship before turning the hologram off.

"We need something small enough to get into that hangar bay. Too bad we blew up all the TIEs at that base." the Twi'lek said with a sigh. "Well... uh, there is one left. But it's not at the base." Ezra said hesitantly as Zeb made a gesture for him to keep quiet. "Look, this is serious, Zeb. For Kanan." the Padawan before the Lasat sighed. "Fine." he agreed as Hera folded her arms.

"What's going on?" she asked sternly. "The TIE we stole a while back, we, uh- we didn't exactly crash it." the younger teen admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "And by 'didn't exactly', you mean..." she trailed off, waiting for him to explain. "We didn't crash it. We kept it." he replied simply. "You all knew about this? I should be angry. I should yell at you for disobeying a direct order. But right now, I'm just grateful we got it." she said, sounding a bit angry at the beginning then relieved at the end.

"Yeah... there's a slight problem with it." Anakin said, rubbing the back of his neck like Ezra did a few minutes ago. "What kind of problem?" the Twi'lek asked, frowning as she looked at each teen. "Yeah, what kind of problem?" Zeb asked, standing up and folding his arms while he frowned at them as well. The three teens smiled nervously in reply.

After Hera landed the ship near where the Padawan and Lasat hid the TIE, the group including Chopper walked over to it. "Okay. Well, this is awful." Zeb complained as he saw the TIE was almost fully painted orange and yellow. "What? It's some of my work." Sabine said with a frown and sounding mildly offended. "It'll have to do." Hera said while folding her arms.

"I thought you were supposed to be the sane one. This whole plan is as crazy as those colors." the Lasat complained as Anakin snorted in amusement "'Crazy as those colors' I gotta remember that." the merc said mostly to himself from where he stood on Sabine's right as Hera walked up to the TIE and turned to face them. "Maybe you're right. Maybe this mission doesn't make military sense. But Kanan is family. And we've all lost enough family to the Empire. So rescuing him makes sense to me. I-I'm not ordering you - any of you - to come along. But you need to decide now. In or out?" she asked.

"I'm in." Ezra said. "I'm in." Sabine added. "Karabast. I'm in." Zeb agreed after a moment of hesitation before they looked at Anakin and waited for him to reply. The merc let out a long sigh before throwing his hands up. "Guess I'm in too." he said, clearly reluctant to get involved any further. Though the smile Sabine gave him managed to wash some of his reluctance away.

"But what about that?" the Lasat asked while gesturing to the TIE. "Eh, no time to fix it. Besides, the Imperials will only scan it. By the time the Imperials see it-" Hera started before Sabine finished, "It'll be too late."

"I'll send in our transporter code as soon as we know Kanan is there. Ezra?" she asked the younger teen after pulling the transport out of hyperspace near Mustafar. Anakin pressed a hand to his helmet as he felt a headache suddenly come on.

_I hate you!_

_You were my brother, __Anakin... I loved you..._

Pain. Hatred. Anguish. That's all the merc felt as they neared the Destroyers above Mustafar. The teen shook his head as tried shaking off the headache. _'The voices were __muffled. Then again, maybe it's best I don't know who they were.'_

"Well, here goes nothin'." the Padawan said before closing his eyes to focus. "So anything?" Zeb asked, sounding a bit impatient. "Give him a minute." Sabine said with an edge to her voice while shooting him a small glare from behind her helmet. "We don't really have a minute." Anakin said, sounding just as impatient as the Lasat. "Ezra, is he there?" Hera asked with a slight worried tone as they came up beside the Destroyer in front of Tarkin's.

"He's there. He's alive!" the Padawan said before the Twi'lek pressed a few buttons on the console. "Sending codes." she said. "_Transport ship 63378 cleared for docking._" an Imperial officer informed them over the comm. "They bought it. Chop, send in Sabine's present." Hera said to the droid. Chopper warbled before rolling over to the droid outlet and plugging in.

The group watched Sabine's TIE fighter fly over to the Destroyer and enter via the underside docking area. After giving it a minute, she pressed a button on her wrist computer and they watched as the ship shut down a few seconds later.

While it was down Hera flew over and docked the bottom of the transport with the Destroyer before everyone minus Chopper exited the ship. Ezra quickly cut a hole in ship with his lightsaber before climbing through with the others right behind him.

"These guys will make up soon." Sabine said, referring to the unconscious troopers in the hallway that were affected by the EMP overloading their helmets comms. "How soon?" Ezra asked her. "Too soon, I reckon." Zeb answered. "Come on." the Padawan said while gesturing for them to follow.

"Reinforcements already? That was fast." Hera commented after Chopper contacted her and warbled as they turned left at one of the corridors. "Don't worry. On a ship this big, it'll take 'em a while to find us." Sabine assured before they rounded another corner and stopped just as four stormtroopers rounded the corner opposite of them. "Drop your weapons! Hands up!" the lead trooper ordered as they aimed their blasters at the merc and rebels.

"'Take a while' huh?" Anakin asked her dryly before shooting the lead trooper with his DC-15A. Using the other troopers distraction at seeing one their own get killed, the merc and rebels quickly turned around and attempted to backtrack, only for three more troopers cut them off. "It's the rebels. This way!" the lead trooper of that group ordered before chasing them.

Ezra ignited his saber and deflected a few bolts before Hera closed a set of blast doors between them and the second group. "Stand back." he said before stabbing his saber into the middle of the door. "Pretty clever, kid. So what's next?" the Mandalorian asked him as he extinguished his saber and turned to face them. "Kanan is down that hall. I just cut off only way to get to him." he replied.

"Might be our only way, but it's not yours." Hera said with an eye gesture toward a ventilation duct on the ceiling. With Zebs help he opened it up and climbed in before turning. "Ezra, may the Force be with you." Anakin said to the younger teen before getting nod in reply then watching him close the vent. "Let's go. Let's go." the Twi'lek urged quickly before she and the others took off down the hallway.

"I hope Ezra's found Kanan by now." Sabine said after they killed a few troopers in a turbolift then continued running from the other troopers still chasing them.

After losing the troopers chasing them the group opted to try continueing on more stealthily. Hera peaked around a corner in one of the corridors after they took cover behind it. "The other troopers are waking up." she said to them with a tone of worry in her voice as Sabine looked at her wrist computer. "That puts twice as many between us and Chopper." Zeb said, his tone sounding worried as well.

"I think I have an alternate plan." the Mandalorian said. "Let's hear it." Anakin replied before she took out a smoke bomb. "Part one." she said before tossing it at the troopers around the corner.

The group quickly ran past the corridor the troopers were in as blaster fire was heard coming from behind them. "Part two, we go to Bay 5." the teenage girl said as they ran down the corridor away from the imperials. "Huh. Where your masterpiece is." the Twi'lek said with a knowing smirk. "That's got nothing to do with it." the younger girl defended half-heartedly.

"Ezra, we're finding another way out. Ezra? Can you hear me? Ezra. Can you hear me? Ezra!" Hera tried reaching him on his comm, only to get static in return. "Ezra, are you out there?" she tried again a few seconds later. "_I'm here._" he replied somewhat groggily a moment later. "Do you have Kanan? Is he okay?" she asked. "_Yeah. I think he's better than okay._" the younger teen replied after another moment of silence.

After some more running the group managed to keep from falling when the ship suddenly shook. _'What the hell are those Jedi doing back there?' _Anakin wondered with a frown.

Once they reached the main hanger, the four quickly climbed into the TIE as the Destroyer kept shaking and rumbling. "Ezra, we're in the TIE. Where are you?" Hera asked after sitting the pilot seat. "_On my way. Go!_" he urged. "We are not leaving without you and Kanan." she replied. "_Will you just listen to the kid? Don't worry. I've got him._" the older Jedi assured as rebels smiled at hearing his voice.

"_You mean, I've got you._" Ezra said to him. Anakin smiled slightly as he could practically see the smirk on the kids face. "_You take care of Zeb, Sabine and Anakin. I'll get him out of here. Trust me._" Kanan said to the Twi'lek before she took off.

"We had to take the TIE that has a bull's-eye painted on it!" Zeb complained as an Imperial TIE opened fire on them from behind. "Spectre-3, we're gonna need to get out of here fast. Send a signal so we can link up for hyperspace. Do you read? Chopper's not answering." she said after getting no reply from the droid.

"I can't believe that bucket of bolts abandoned us." the Lasat growled as Hera flew the TIE above the Destroyer in front of Tarkin's exploding one while three others joined the first in trying to shoot them.

"_We got your back._" Ezra said over the TIEs comm as Kanan flew the Inquisitor's up beside theirs. "Thanks. But without Chopper's transport, we're going nowhere fast." Sabine said. "We got TIEs closing in." Hera warned. "How many?" the younger girl asked. "Too many!" she replied while trying to avoid getting shot.

"We're in a bit of a tight spot." Zeb said sounding worried. "Yeah? Well, these things weren't built for four." Sabine said shooting him a small glare. "I meant out there, not in here!" he growled at her. "Trying to concentrate!" the Twi'lek said sounding annoyed. "_I just want to say it was really nice getting to know all of you._" Ezra said his tone half cheerful half panicky.

Chopper warbled some kind of fanfare over the comm after the transport suddenly appeared out of hyperspace followed by the _Ghost _and three Corellian Corvettes. Anakin sighed in relief upon sensing his mother in the _Ghost_.

The corvettes, transport and _Ghost _immediately opened fire on the TIEs as soon as they got close enough. "Kanan, Ezra, dock with Chopper's transport so we can make the jump into hyperspace." Hera said to them as she docked with the transport the same time Kanan did before they entered hyperspace.

The four climbed out of the TIE one after another just as the two Jedi did from theirs. "I owe you all a great debt of gratitude. Even if what you did was rash and reckless." the older Jedi said as he smiled and placed his hands on Hera's shoulders. "You're welcome, dear." she replied, returning his smile before hugging him. Chopper let out a complaining warble as he entered the docking tube. "If Chopper was in this transport ship, then who was flying the _Ghost_?" Ezra wondered.

The group followed the droid back to their ship while passing by four rebel troops before entering the port side docking area of the _Ghost_. "_Hello, my friend. It is good to see you again._" Bail Organa said to Kanan with a smile after the droid brought up a hologram of him.

"I don't understand. I met you once for a few moments. I don't even know your name." the older Jedi replied. "His name is Senator Bail Organa." Hera said before walking over to stand beside his hologram. "And the crews of the blockade runners?" Kanan asked. "_Members of other rebel cells._" Bail explained. "There are other cells." Sabine said, her tone sounding of realization.

"We're a cell? Wait. Did you know we were a cell?" the younger teen asked the Lasat over his shoulder. "Um, no." he replied. Anakin shoulders tensed as he sensed his mom approaching. "We weren't supposed to meet. That way, if captured, we couldn't reveal the other rebels to the Empire. That was the protocol." Hera said before Bail cut off.

"The protocol has changed." a voice said from the ladder as some descended it. "Fulcrum." Hera greeted as the Togruta turned to face them. "Ahsoka. My name is Ahsoka Tano." she replied while Anakin released a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. _'Good thing she didn't introduce herself as Ahsoka Revan, Sabine probably would have flipped.' _

"Why did you come here?" Kanan asked Anakin's mom as Chopper rolled over to her. "Because of you and your apprentice, many in this system and beyond have heard your message. You gave them hope in their darkest times. We didn't want that hope to die." the former Padawan explained as she crouched to one knee and placed a hand on the droid's dome. "So what happens now?" Ezra asked her. "I don't know. One chapter has closed for you, Ezra Bridger. This is a new day. A new beginning." she replied while standing up.

Mother and son were the only ones who remained after the others left them alone. Ahsoka bit her lip and made a move to hug him before changing her mind out of fear he'd reject it. The merc took his helmet off and placed it on the ground before standing back up as blue met blue. "Mom... I'm, uh... I'm sorry I left... I-" he started to apologize before cut him off with a hug.

"It's my fault... You were thirteen and I kept babying you when I should have stopped sooner." she apologized softly before holding him at arms length. "It's just... When your father left to find his heritage three years before you left, I was worried that if something happened to him, you'd be the only thing I have left of him and..." she trailed off sadly before he pulled her back into a hug.

"It's okay... I don't plan on leaving you like that again, I promise." he assured before she stood on her toes and kissed his forehead. "I love you, Ani." she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you too, mom." he murmured against her montrals as the two remained in their comforting hug...

**Season 1 is finally ****finished.**


	13. The Siege of Lothal

"Phantom_, I'm moving into position._" Hera said over the shuttle's comm as the Ghost crew and Phoenix Squadron were currently in the middle of stealing shield generator from three Imperial freighters. "Copy, Spectre-2. I'm on my mark." Sabine replied while Anakin stood behind her, ready to make repairs if necessary.

The Mandalorian moved the shuttle closer to the front freighter before shooting at the cargo boxes attached underneath it. "Cargo is liberated. Spectre-2, you're cleared for pickup." the merc said to the _Ghost_'s pilot over the comm.

The two older teens watched as Hera attempted to grab the cargo before seeing two Imperial cruisers drop out of hyperspace and open fire on the ship. "_Imperial reinforcements have just arrived!_" the Twi'lek warned.

"_I need a little help. They're all over me!_" one of the A-wing pilots said as he was being chased by a TIE fighter. "Got you covered, Phoenix 1" Sabine replied before blasting the fighter to smithereens. "Nice shot." Anakin complimented. "Thanks." she replied with a smile.

"Ghost _to Phoenix Squadron, mission accomplished._" Hera said before Sato's corvette jumped to hyperspace along with the A-wings. "_Spectre-5, Spectre-7, bring it in._" Kanan said to them as Anakin rolled his eyes. "I still can't believe I let my mom convince me to officially join your crew." he said to Sabine with an annoyed look on his face.

"It's not _that _bad is it?" she asked with a teasing smirk. "I guess not." he replied with a small smile as she docked the shuttle with the _Ghost_. "We're in the pocket. Five by one." she said Hera before they felt the familiar pull of hyperspace.

"You and your crew have proven quite invaluable to our fleet, Captain Syndulla. The fuel acquired in your convoy attacks has helped keep us one step ahead of any Imperial patrols." Sato said to her as they stood around a large holotable except for Kanan who sat on a small ladder behind Ahsoka.

"Thank you, Commander Sato. I'm just sorry that our intel about the shield generators being on that shipment was wrong." the Twi'lek replied. "Perhaps with your next attack, Hera." the Togruta said to her before Chopper entered the room and warbled.

"What is the meaning of this?" the commander demanded as everyones attention focused on the droid. "An incoming transmission. Who from, Chop? Ah, why don't you just play it?" Kanan said without any care that they were in a location you wouldn't want the Empire to find out about as Hera gave him a stern look before turning her attention back to the droid.

"Uh, Chop, cloak us with a one-way transmission." she said to him before he projected a hologram of Old Jho. "Hey, it's Old Jho!" Ezra said with a smile. "The obviousness is strong with this one." Anakin snarked dryly, earning a smirk from Sabine and his mom and a glare from the Padawan.

"_I can't see you, but I can hear you my friends. Time is short, and there's someone here desperate to speak with you. I told her I couldn't find you, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She says she needs your help._" Jho explained as Kanan stepped up to the holotable.

"We're always ready to helping someone in need." the older Jedi replied. "_Yeah, well, this one's different._" Jho said before moving out of the way a new figure appeared. "Minister Tua?" the Twi'lek asked in shock.

"We can't trust her. She's an Imperial." Zeb said, putting his hands on the holotable and leaning forward a bit. "_Please, I beg you. Listen to my request._" Tua pleaded. "End transmission now, Chop." Kanan ordered.

"Wait! Minister, what do you want?" Hera asked her. "_My life is in danger. I need you to give me safe passage off Lothal._" the Minister replied. "You're not really considering this?" the Lasat asked in disbelief. "Quiet!" the Twi'lek ordered. "_I assure you, my intentions are quite sincere. To prove it, I will trade secret Imperial information._" Tua assured.

"You're defecting from the Empire?" Sabine asked, giving her a suspicious look. "_Yes, I am._" she replied. "She's telling the truth. I can sense her fear." Ezra said. "Yeah, but of what?" Kanan wondered aloud with his arms folded as Anakin scratched his elbow. _'__I've got a bad feeling about this.'_

"So what have you got to trade?" the Twi'lek asked Tua. "_A list... of rebel sympathizers on Lothal... And other nearby systems._" she explained. "How come these sympathizers have not been arrested?" Sato asked her.

"_Some here powerful friends in the Senate. Imperial command watches them, but can do nothing. I know you all need allies. Get me off Lothal, and I will give you the list._" she replied. A few seconds went by before the older Jedi let out a frustrated groan. "We shouldn't even consider this." he said as Sabine glared at the minister.

"It's obviously a trap." she added. "_There's something else. I've discovered the true reason the Empire came to Lothal._" Tua replied. "We know that one. The Empire has a factory, and they're stripping the planet's resources to fuel it." Anakin stated.

"No. There is another reason, known only to a few and ordered by the Emperor himself." she replied before the others talked amongst themselves while Ezra stepped forward. "We have to do this." he said. "I agree." Ahsoka said. "So do I." Kanan added. "All right, if Commander Sato approves the mission." Hera said as she turned her attention to him.

"I believe it could be worth the risk." he replied as the Padawan turned his attention to the minister. "Minister, we'll get you out. Send us your co-ordinates." he said. "Thank you." she said with a relieved smile before cutting off.

"Well, I guess we're on our way back to Lothal." the Twi'lek said. "I guess we are." the older Jedi replied before both left the room.

Ahsoka turned to her son once the door closed. "Anakin, be careful down there. I have a bad feeling." she said with a look of concern on her face. " I will. Promise." he assured with a smile while scratching his elbow again.

"So, we're not taking the _Ghost_, and we're letting Chopper drive?" the Mandalorian asked as she, the merc, Zeb and Hera boarded a Star Commuter 2000 docked with _Phoenix Home _where the two Jedi and droid were already on.

"After our stunt on Mustafar, there's a good chance the Empire will be able to track it." Hera explained as she and the other sat down. "Great mission so far." the Lasat said sarcastically as Chopper warbled before piloting the shuttle away from the fleet and jumping to hyperspace.

"So what's the plan?" Kanan asked. "Okay, so Minister Tua is scheduled to visit Governor Tarkin tomorrow. She leaves Lothal via shuttle at 1800. We wait at the hangar, steal the shuttle and take her to safety." his Padawan explained. "Ezra, I hope you're sure about this." Sabine said, sitting behind him while Anakin sat beside her.

"After all the trouble she's made for us, why should we help her?" the Lasat asked while folding his arms. "Because that's what we do. We Help those who can't help themselves. Plus, her list will help us out." he replied as the others smiled in agreement.

"_Shuttle 593, this is Lothal control. You are cleared to land._" an Imperial officer said over the shuttle's comm as Chopper flew them towards the planet. "I didn't think I'd miss it, I..." the younger teen suddenly trailed off and Anakin knew exactly why as he subconsciously scratched his elbow again. _'The cold...' _

"What is it?" Kanan asked his Padawan. "Do you feel that? I feel so cold." he replied with a look a worry on his face as they flew over the capital before landing in one of the docking bays.

"All right, Zeb, Chopper, stay with the shuttle in case we need a quick exit." Hera told them after the group exited the shuttle as Chopper warbled nervously. "Tua's leaving from Bay 23. Let's go." Kanan ordered as they started walking.

The group stopped at an intersection on the streets before Kanan and Hera looked around the corner. "Huh. We'll need a distraction." she said before they walked back over to the teens.

"Well, I'm gonna go make a few friends. When Tua arrives, I'll keep 'em busy while you drop into the main hangar from above." the older Jedi said as Hera arched a brow. "Make a few friends?" she asked.

"It'll be fun." he replied with a smirk. "Fun?" she asked, giving him an unamused look. "Don't worry, General Hera. Just be ready to move." he replied, smirk still present and gave her a mocking salute before going around the corner.

The other four watched as walked with a stormtrooper commander for a moment before knocking him out and dragging his body into an ally, much to the surprise of Hera, Sabine and Ezra.

A few seconds later Kanan walked out of the alley wearing the armor and smirked at the others before putting the helmet on. The older Jedi gave them a salute before walking down the street he and Hera had looked at earlier.

"Kanan's gone buckethead." the Mandalorian girl said still a bit surprised as the Twi'lek folded her arms. "I don't believe it..." she mumbled. "I'm kinda jealous. I only have the helmet." the Padawan said with a small smile before Sabine put her helmet on and they started using the boxes in the nearby alley to climb to the roof of the building beside them.

The four crouched down as soon as they made it on top of the hanger before hearing a speeder approach. "Here she comes. But she's got company." Ezra said. "What kind of company?" Hera asked as she made her way over to him. "Oh, fantastic. Agent Kallus." he replied dryly while looking through a pair of macrobinoculars.

The four watched as Kallus stopped the speeder in front of Kanan and the other three stormtroopers before getting out of it. The two older teens dropped down off the side as soon as the Kanan and the Imperials passed below them.

"Hey!" Sabine called, getting their attention before she and Anakin opened fire on Kallus and the three normal troopers. "Minister take cover!" the agent ordered her as he and the trooper returned fire before Kanan closed the bay doors, separating Kallus and himself from the others.

Anakin and Sabine quickly jumped into the speeder as they avoided getting shot before she turned it on and lifted the speeder up. The two quickly jumped out and back onto the docking bay roof just as one of the engines was destroyed.

Anakin instantly sensed something was wrong after looking towards the Imperial shuttle. "No! Wait!" he yelled to Tua as she ran up the ramp. A few seconds later the inside of the shuttle suddenly exploded, killing the minister and knocking Kanan, Ezra and Hera off their feet.

"You did this!" Kallus accused as he fired on the three again. "Zeb, we need a pickup. Now!" Sabine said urgently over her helmet comm. A few minutes later the shuttle lowered into the hanger and picked up the three on the ground before rising back up to pick the two older teens up then took off.

The shuttle didn't make it very far before an AT-DP destroyed the engines and caused it to make a crash landing in the middle of a street. "Come on. Come on! Up, everybody! We're moving!" Sabine urged quickly as smoke started to fill the shuttle before she lowered the ramp.

The group quickly exited the shuttle and passed a few civilians as they ran into the back alleys.

Sabine pressed a button on the holoprojector inside Ezra's old home before a hologram of the journalist Alton appeared.

"_A beloved citizen of Lothal, Minister Tua's life was cut short by this criminal band of rebels. If you see them, summon Imperial authorities immediately. Trooper corps have been mobilized in an extensive search-_" Alton reported as his hologram changed to a picture of Kanan, Ezra and Hera before the Twi'lek walked over and turned it off.

"They did this to turn Lothal against us. We can't do any more here. We have to leave, for good." she said. "We can't just run. The people have to know the truth." Ezra replied, holding his cadet helmet.

"I don't think the Empire is giving us much choice." the Mandalorian girl said as she stood up from her seat. "Open up in there!" they heard a stormtrooper order from outside.

Once the troopers blew the door, the rebels snuck out a secret passage Ezra's parents had installed in the bunker and made their way to roof just as the Imperials blew up the inside of his old home.

"If they know about this hideout, they'll probably know about our others." the merc said quietly from where they were crouched as Chopper rolled over to them.

"There's no more hiding. We need a ship. Maybe we can try one of the local Imperial airfields." Hera suggested as Sabine pressed a button on her wrist computer and brought up a hologram of the capital using Chopper's holoprojector.

"They're locked down. Besides, we'll never get outside the capital." she explained. "The Empire's looking everywhere for us." Anakin said. "Not everywhere." Kanan said as he pointed at the Imperial Complex. "The Imperial Complex? Are you crazy?" the Twi'lek asked him in mild disbelief.

"Does anyone every say yes to that question?" he asked. "He's right. Deploying troops to blocking every city exit has spread the garrisons thin. It sounds crazy, but the area with the least troops will be... here, near the factories. There are landing platforms outside these hangars. They're our best chance if we're ever gonna find a shuttle." Sabine explained, pointing to the factories then the hangers. "I'm already dressed for the part." he replied with a smirk.

As much as he hated the cramped space of the crate, he had to admit it wasn't all bad considering Sabine and Hera were in the same crate. "What's this?" they heard a stormtrooper ask Kanan and Ezra as the repulsorlift came to a stop. _'Fuck! I wish they'd hurry up already! A 6' foot tall teen was_ not_ meant to fit inside a crate, especially with two other __people in it!' _

"Power cells in need of recharging for the rebel pursuit." Kanan replied as they felt the repulsorlift start moving before coming to another abrupt stop. It took every ounce of Anakin's willpower not to groan in frustration. "I got this. No, you don't have to check inside." they heard Ezra say as the merc rolled his eyes.

_'Is that novice really attempting a mind trick?' _"Did you just try to give me an order, Cadet?" the trooper demanded. "No. He just said, 'You don't have to check inside.'" Kanan said. "I don't have to check inside." he replied in a monotone.

"Well, then, as you wish, trooper. Cadet, let's move. Hurry it up!" Kanan said and after a moment the others in the crates felt the repulsorlift moving again. "I wish that worked for me." Ezra said after a moment. "I wish it worked _on _you." the older Jedi said dryly.

After a few more minutes the repulsorlift stopped and the others took that as a sign they could finally come out of the crates. Anakin, Hera and Sabine pushed the lid off their crate and stepped out at the same time the Lasat pushed the lid off his and groaned loudly.

"Zeb, will you be quiet?" Hera asked him seriously as he breathed heavily. "What? I need to breathe. Have you smelled me?" he asked. "Huh. Don't think it matters if you're noisy. There's nobody around. This was a good plan." Sabine commented as she looked outside the door for a moment before turning her attention back towards the others.

"Of course it was a good plan. We came up with it." Kanan said as he and Ezra removed their helmets. "This way." the younger teen said, while gesturing for them to follow. The group only made about five feet before they heard Chopper warble from inside the crate Zeb was in. "Somebody get Chopper." Hera said while gesturing to the crate.

"Think we'll find them this time?" one trooper asked another. "We better." the second one replied before they both bumped into the Lasat. "Found me." he said in a sing-song voice before grabbing both by the helmets and slamming their heads together. The group took off down the hallway for a bit before Chopper plugged into a droid outlet.

Once the door opened they ran out into a large landing pad and passed a few TIEs before stopping under a large arch. "There's a shuttle. What'd I tell ya?" Kanan asked with a smirk. "You did good." Hera replied with a smile before they continued running towards it.

Sabine abruptly stopped as she noticed a few shield generators. "Hera, Anakin, over here." she called over to them before they turned and jogged back over to her. "Shield generators." the Twi'lek realized with a smile. "Military grade." the former merc added.

"Zeb, Ezra, grab all we can carry. These might help turn this day around. And The fleet could sure use them." Hera said to them as she and the two older teens activated the repulsorlifts on the generators and moved towards the shuttle.

Just as they reached the shuttle the three Force-sensitives abruptly stopped a few feet away from it as they all sensed the same thing coming directly from behind...

The _cold_...

"Do you feel that?" Ezra asked his master a trace of fear in his tone as the three Force-sensitives looked behind them. "The cold..." Kanan replied grimly.

And that's when they saw him... The man in black armor... Wielding a red blade... The Dark Lord of the Sith himself: _Darth Vader_

Anakin's eyes widened in horror. _'Oh shit...' _the former merc removed his hands from the generator before slowly backing up a few feet as Vader's breathing was heard. The others soon noticed and turned around to see him before six stormtroopers appeared behind him and moved to cover on the left side behind the legs of a few AT-DPs.

Both Jedi ignited their blade as the Sith Lord closed in on them. "Hera, go!" Kanan ordered as he looked at her. "Kanan, look out!" she warned before he barely managed to block Vader's strike. It was clear the older Jedi was struggling even with the Dark Lord using one hand only.

Seeing him overpowered, Anakin quickly bolted for cover behind the crates Sabine and Zeb had just ducked behind as the troopers opened fire on them. Vader broke the saber lock before Force-pushing the Jedi away. Ezra landed on his side while Kanan managed to land on his feet before moving to attack.

The two traded few more blows before the Sith Lord grabbed Kanan by his wrists with one hand as the Jedi attempted to stab him. The Dark Lord squeezed his wrists which caused him to accidentally extinguish his saber, Vader then tossed him towards a few crates and watched him roll before his face hit the top crate.

Seeing his master and friend get tossed so easily didn't seem to discourage the young Jedi as he instead raised his blade and rushed the Sith Lord before being Force-pushed against a AT-DP leg on the opposite side and held there by the Dark Lord.

"Your master has deceived you into believing you can become a Jedi." Vader mocked him while slowly bringing the young Jedi's blade closer to his own neck.

Anakin watched the duel closely, if you could call it that and was mentally debating on whether or not to get involved before remembering his dad's words. 'Never. I repeat: Never fight Vader unless it's absolutely necessary, understand?'. The former merc remembered how serious his dad had been when made him swear.

Anakin looked over at Sabine as she returned fire on the troopers before a determined look crossed his face. _'No. This definitely qualifies as necessary.' _the son of Revan stood up and removed his helmet before dropping it on the ground as the Mandalorian girl and Lasat looked at him in confusion and concern in the teenage girl's case as he stepped forward...

"Hey!" the former merc called out to the Sith Lord and watched as he let go of Ezra before turning to face the other teen. Anakin reached to the back of the right side of his belt and opened the long pouch before taking out the lightsaber inside.

The former merc looked at the button on it before turning his attention back to the Dark Lord and activating the purple blade as he held it above his head in one of the Djem So stances.

Anakin could sense the shock from the other rebels. "Who are you?" Vader asked him. "I am Anakin Obi-Wan Revan, son of Revan and Ahsoka Tano, and your going to pay for killing my namesake." the former merc said completely serious. "Are you now? Very well, son of Revan kill me if you can." Vader mocked as took a stance.

A few seconds passed before Anakin rushed him and the two traded a few blows. The teen saw Kanan move towards them out of the corner of his eye and moved back out Vader's range to allow the older Jedi to help. Both traded a few blows before ending up in another saberlock.

Kanan eventually broke it and while attempting to slash the Sith Lord the larger man avoided it and shoved him forward, making the older Jedi stumble forward. Anakin and Ezra both attempted to attack him as his focus was still on Kanan only for the Dark Lord to block the older teen's while simultaneously avoiding the younger before backhanding him at least ten feet away.

"You're attempts to avenge your namesake have so far been pathetic." Vader taunted Anakin as he blocked a strike from the teen who had just attempted to jump behind him then attack.

The former merc's anger spiked at the taunt and moved into attack after Kanan was slashed across his armoured shoulder just as the AT-DPs suddenly exploded. Being so close the older teen instinctively tried shield his face.

Anakin was given a rude awakening as the Dark Lord suddenly slashed him across his right eye. The former merc didn't have a chance to even cry out in pain before he felt a searing amount of it in his arm as Vader had followed up with cutting his right arm off just below the elbow.

The throbbing pain from his eye and arm had almost come close to rendering him unconscious as he heard Kanan. "Now!" the older man had yelled. Anakin left eye opened weakly as he felt two people helping up and carrying him towards the shuttle. "Hold on, kid." the older Jedi said to him before summoning his friend's saber.

"If that doesn't kill him, what will?" Ezra asked in shock as they stopped for a moment to see Vader lift both fallen walkers off him effortlessly with the Force. "Not us. Hurry!" his master urged as they moved as fast as they while carrying Anakin.

"Come on! Come on!" Sabine urged quickly as they stepped onto the ramp just before shuttle started taking. Sabine cried out in slight pain after her two attempted shots on the Sith Lord were redirected back at her just before the shuttle took off into the sky.

After setting their friend gently down beside Sabine, Kanan and Ezra sat on the opposite side and while the former rubbed his wounded shoulder, Hera applied a bacta patch to Anakin's eye and a bit bigger one to the stump of his arm before tending to Sabine.

The older male teen hissed in pain as he gently rubbed his arm above the wound. "Zeb, make sure they can't track us." the Twi'lek told him. "Consider it done." he. replied before heading towards the cockpit.

"Are you okay?" she asked the Mandalorian girl as she removed her helmet. "Yeah, I'll live." she replied with a pained sigh. "Anakin?" the older woman asked him gently. "I'll be okay." he replied quietly.

"Kanan, what was that? Another Inquisitor?" Ezra asked, fear evident in his tone. "No. Something worse." the man replied grimly. "What?" his Padawan asked. "A Sith Lord. The ancient enemy of the Jedi." Kanan replied, his town still grim.

"H-How do we fight him?" the younger teen stammered in shock. "Fight him? Ezra, we were lucky to survive." the older Jedi replied. "Then that settles it. I'm going to make for orbit so we can jump away." the Twi'lek said as she and the Mandalorian girl started making their way towards the cockpit before Kanan stopped them.

"Hera, no. He will have a blockade of Star Destroyers waiting for us." he said. "And this shuttle is slow, with barely any weapons or shields. We're gonna have to smuggle ourselves off Lothal for a change." Sabine added before climbing up the ladder to the cockpit.

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea." the Twi'lek said with a smile. "What are you thinking?" Kanan asked her. "I'm thinking we know the right man to smuggle us off-world." she replied before a look of realization crossed his and Ezra's faces. "Not him!" they both groaned in frustration as she started climbing the ladder.

"Why didn't you tell us?" the former merc heard a voice ask quietly and looked over towards the ladder to see Sabine standing there with her arms folded. The teen let out a long sigh. "Because my dad told me not unless I could trust that person, or in this case people, completely. I actually was going to tell all of you after you guys met my mom, but then we got sidetracked and it slipped my mind." he explained in a tired voice.

"And you being a Revan? What about that?" she asked, unfolding her arms and placing one hand on her hip. The former merc sighed again. "I wasn't sure how to tell you that... I understand if you hate me now, not just because of what my ancestor did but also because it probably seemed like I didn't trust you even after knowing each other for almost a year..." he trailed off quietly.

Anakin was taken off guard when she suddenly, but also gently, sat in his lap and was taken even more off guard when she kissed him. The former merc snapped out his surprise before wrapping his remaining arm around her and returning the kiss with passion.

The Mandalorian girl broke the kiss a few seconds later before resting her head on his shoulder as tears started running down her face and onto his shoulder. "I was so scared when I saw him slash you across the face, I thought-" she was off by a choked sob while he rubbed the armorless part of her back.

"I was so happy yet ashamed when he cut your arm off. Happy he hadn't killed you yet ashamed of myself when I felt relief after seeing him cut your arm off." she admitted softly before pulling back far enough to see him smiling gently at her. "Look on bright side, now you can call me lefty." he joked softly, earning a small giggle in return.

Sabine removed both hands from his shoulders before gently cupping his face and sharing another love filled gaze. "I truly, deeply, love you, Ani..." she trailed off in a whisper as her lips neared his. "I deeply love you, Angel..." he whispered, closing the distance and sharing another love-filled kiss...

Morning had arrived by the time they touched down on Lando's before the group exited the ship. Anakin looked around and noticed not much had changed since the last time they were here before slowly tracing the new scar on his eye with his index finger. _'I'm just glad Vader's saber hadn't pierced my eye.'_

"You must be Lando's droid." Hera said as he approached. "Yes, ma'am. Welcome. I have prepared everything according to Calrissian's instructions. Is one of you a mechanic?" he asked. "That must be me." Sabine said before Chopper warbled in annoyance. "Definitely not you." she quipped.

The group walked towards the fence before stopping when they noticed a plume of dark smoke rising up in the distance. "Hey, kid!" Zeb called out to Ezra as he mounted one of the speeder bikes and prepared to take off in the direction of the smoke. "Just let him go, Zeb." Kanan said and after a few minutes went after his Padawan.

Roughly half an hour later both finally returned. "What happened out there?" Hera asked the older Jedi as he got off the bike. "The Empire burned Tarkintown." he replied as Ezra stopped behind before dismounting.

"Did anyone survive?" Sabine asked with a look of concern on her face. "The population's been taken captive." the younger teen replied as the Lasat growled. "Let's go bust 'em out. Where's my rifle?" Zeb asked as punched his fist into the other hand.

"No. He'd be waiting. You were right. We have no choice. We have to leave." Kanan said as he turned to Hera. "For the good of Lothal." she said. "So what's the plan for gettin' out of here?" the young Jedi asked.

"Lando had these old transponders lying around. Sabine's gonna tune their signature codes to match this shuttle's." Anakin explained. "Sounds like a lousy Lando plan." Kanan said with a smirk as Zeb chuckled.

"No, it's Lando's gear. It was my plan. With these transponders beaming out the same signal as the shuttle, we should be able to slip by unnoticed." the Mandalorian girl explained as she walked over to one of the transponders and leaned against the crate it was sitting on before folding her arms.

"Oh, sounds like a lousy Sabine plan." Zeb joked. "Better than Lando's." Kanan replied.

Once they dropped of three shield generators and moved the transponders on board, the crew quickly took off back into Lothal's skies. As they moved through the sky Zeb tossed each transponder from the back cargo ramp after putting enough distance each.

As soon as Hera was convinced the Empire had been fooled enough she took the shuttle into space before jumping to hyperspace.

"Never thought I'd say this, but thank you, Lando Calrissian." the Twi'lek said as she climbed down the ladder while Chopper warbled. "So if we can't go back to Lothal, where are we going?" Kanan asked her. "What are you talking about? We're all part of the Rebellion now." she replied, walking up to him and folding her arms.

"Are we? Are we all sure about that?" he asked her and the others. "Maybe we could just grab the _Ghost_ and lay low for a while." Sabine suggested. "I like fighting with Phoenix Squadron. Reminds me of the Honor Guard. Besides, they're counting on us. Wouldn't be right to abandon them now." the Lasat said.

"Ezra, what do you think?" Hera asked him. "We can't help Lothal now, but I think the rebels can help us get stronger, so we can go back and be change things. I think we should stay with the rebel fleet." he replied.

After exiting hyperspace and sending their clearance code to their A-wing escort, Hera docked the shuttle with _Phoenix Home _before exiting the shuttle. Anakin looked down at his arm. _'Mom's gonna flip when she see this...'_

The group turned to Chopper when he started warbling frantically. "Chopper said a transmitter activated on our shuttle moments ago." Sabine translated. "What does that mean?" Ezra asked. "It means the Empire tracked us back to the fleet." Kanan replied sounding worried before they all sprinted towards the cockpit.

"Commander Sato! We need the fleet to jump out of here. Our shuttle was tracked by the Empire." Hera explained as they entered the cockpit to see Sato and Ahsoka. Seeing the concerned then horrified look on his mother's face as she noticed the scar on his eye then his missing arm he mouthed to explain everything later.

"Commander, I'm scanning a ship in our sector. We're been tracking one target. No other ships have entered the system." a technician explained as he brought up a map of their location. "Move Phoenix Squadron to intercept." Sato ordered.

"_Fighter coming in mark 4. He's coming in too fast!_" a pilot said over the comm as two A-wing blips disappeared from the map. "Fleet, raise deflector shields." Hera ordered. "_We've lost Phoenix 1 and 2!_" the pilot replied. "He's headed right for us." Ezra said as he pointed to the red blip on the map.

"_He's headed fo the command ship!_" the pilot said as the blip was now right on top of them. "How can one fighter best our entire squadron?" Sato asked in disbelief after ship shook slightly and the lights flickered.

"Your pilots are outmatched, Commander." the Twi'lek said before running to the door. "What are you doing?" Kanan asked in surprise before she stopped and turned to face him. "Getting involved." she replied before continueing out the door. "Not without me, you're not." he said before following her.

"Let's go. Ezra, Anakin, come on!" Sabine said with a smile as she followed the other two. "All right if I tag along?" Ahsoka asked with a smirk. "I'm not really in any position to tell my own mother 'no' now am I?" her son asked rhetorically before the three quickly followed the other to the _Ghost_.

Once they reached the cockpit Anakin sat in the seat behind Hera while his mom sat co-pilot in front of Kanan. "Everyone, check in." Hera ordered as she started up the ship. "_Tail gun, check!_" Zeb replied. "_Turret, check!_" Sabine replied. "_Nose gun, check! Check!_" Ezra replied.

"All right, kids, do Mom and Dad proud." the Twi'lek said. "Here he comes." Kanan warned, pointing ahead as she detached the ship from _Phoenix Home_. "_Ghost _moving to engage." Hera said after the TIE pilot landed a few shots on _Phoenix Home_.

The Twi'lek pulled the ship around before chasing after the TIE. "_I'm on him! Who is this guy?_" Sabine asked in surprise after all her shots missed. "Phoenix Home _to_ Ghost. _We can't withstand another attack from that fighter!_" Sato warned them.

"Copy that. Phoenix Squadron form up and focus fire." Hera ordered as they continued to pursue the TIE. "The Force is strong with him. Kanan, let's find out how strong." Ahsoka said. "How can I help?" he asked. "Just remember your training." she replied before both closed their eye and held out one their hands in front of them.

_'Guess it __wouldn't hurt to help.' _Anakin closed his eyes and remembered his mom's training. After a few minutes Ezra's voice came over the comm. "_I think I know who it is. Back on Lothal I felt something. Kanan and Anakin did too. The fear. The anger. The hate. It's the Sith Lord we faced!_" he said, his tone tinged with fear as Anakin suddenly grabbed his head in pain.

_Good... Good... The Force is strong with you! A powerful Sith, you will become. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth... Vader._

Anakin was broken out of his vision by his mom's scream. "Mom!" he exclaimed in panic as Kanan grabbed her before she could hit the floor. "_Captain Syndulla, whatever you're doing, keep it up so the fleet can recover!_" Sato told her. "No! Commander, you need to get the fleet out of here now!" Kanan said urgently.

"I'm with Kanan." Anakin spoke in agreement, still watching his mom with concern and worry. "_I will not abandon our command ship!_" the commander replied. "You don't have a choice, sir. Without a hyperdrive, you must abandon ship." the Twi'lek implored as the TIE fired on them again.

"Now or never, Commander." Kanan said. "_I regretfully agree. All hands, abandon ship. You'll have to keep that fighter occupied._" he replied. "Don't worry, sir. We seem to have his attention." she replied. "_Suddenly, there's a lot to do back here._" the Lasat said. "Sorry to spoil your fun, Zeb, but I'm ordering Chopper to divert all power to the hypderdrive system, including cannons." she replied before said droid warbled as he plugged in. "_Hera, what are you doing?_" Sabine asked in shock.

"_I think I know._" Ezra replied. "_All escape pods are secure. Fleet, commence hyperspace jump._" Sato ordered. "Copy that, Commander. We'll meet you at safe heaven." the Twi'lek replied before the two A-wings and three corvettes jumped to hyperspace. "The fleet is away. Get us out of here!" the Mandalorian girl said urgently.

"Everyone, hang on. Chopper, angle all deflectors astern." she ordered as the droid warbled. "The Star Destroyers aren't the ones firing at us! Now, do it fast!" she ordered more fiercely as the droid warbled again. "Hera." Kanan said worriedly as she went to fly the ship between two Destroyers. "Gotcha." she said with a smirk before entering hyperspace.

Anakin sat quietly with his now conscious mother in the _Ghost_'s cockpit after they had re-joined Phoenix Squadron. "Hey..." he said softly before reaching over to give her hand a comforting squeeze. "You alright, mama?" he asked with a smile as she giggled for a moment.

"You haven't called me that since you were eight." she replied while mirroring his smile. "Dad told me a year before he left that you loved it when I always called you that." he teased before a look of concern replaced his smile when she looked troubled again.

Before he could speak again, Ezra and Kanan suddenly entered the cockpit. "Ahsoka, Hera said you wanted to speak with us." Ezra said. "Please. come in." she replied with a smile. "Are you okay?" he asked while sitting in the seat behind her son while Kanan sat in the one behind her.

"I am, thank you. I wanted to ask about the Sith Lord you encountered on Lothal." she explained. "You know we encountered an Inquisitor before, but this was nothing like that. The fear, the anger, the hate. You felt it. I haven't sensed a presence like that since..." the older Jedi trailed off.

"Since the Clone Wars." she said. "Yeah." he replied a slight sound of worry in his tone. "Ahsoka, do you know who or what he is?" the Padawan asked. "No, I don't. But I do know that he will be coming. They'll all be coming now." she replied grimly. "Then we've got to be ready to fight." the younger teen said.

"We must find the strength to fight, but the greater courage is knowing when not to fight." Kanan replied almost sagely as Anakin rolled his eyes. "Stupid Jedi proverb..." he mumbled as the door opened to reveal Zeb, Sabine and Hera.

"And we'll be beside you either way." the Twi'lek said to the older Jedi with a smile as the Mandalorian girl walked over to the others before sitting in her boyfriend's lap as Ahsoka watched with a smile. Anakin smile fell as he looked at his mom, sensing conflict within her and knowing deep down she was hiding something...

**I hope the Anakin vs. Vader fight was at least satisfactory. Also... Anakin and Sabine are _finally _together, I just hope it didn't seem forced, or if did then hopefully not too forced. Anyway, I should have the next chapter up soon.**


	14. The Lost Commanders

Anakin flexed the fingers on his new mechanical arm as the two Jedi entered the briefing room of the corvette _Liberator_, Phoenix Squadron's temporary command ship. "_The destruction of our command ship has severely limited our ability to fight the Empire in this sector._" Sato explained over hologram.

"So maybe we don't fight- Uh, Commander Sato, sir. When things got tough for me on Lothal, I'd go find some place to hide." Ezra said to him. "_You are never shy with your opinions, Ezra Bridger, but establishing a base is a good idea._" the commander commented.

"Problem is, none of the potential bases we know of have the tactical advantage we need to protect what's left of our fleet." Hera explained. "Or aid the nearby systems suffering from Imperial oppression." Kanan added as Hera turned to face him. "We can't help others if we can't help ourselves, Kanan. If only we had more allies." she replied.

"I know someone who might be able to help us. A great military commander with a vast knowledge of the Outer Rim. He could assist us in finding a base, and his experienced leadership would make him a powerful ally." Ahsoka explained as they all turned to face her.

"_How do we recruit this leader?_" Sato asked her. "That's the problem. I lost track of him a long time ago, and all my transmissions have gone unanswered." the Togruta replied as she walked over to his hologram. "We can find him. Let us try." Ezra suggested.

"Well, there is one option I've not yet attempted." she replied with a smile.

The crew of the _Ghost _minus Zeb entered the ship's cockpit and before Ahsoka walked in carrying the head of an old Separatist tactical droid. "Is that the head of an old tactical droid?" Kanan asked as she handed Sabine the head.

"These droids were great at finding things, calculating. Found me, my master and husband a few times when we didn't want to be found." the Torgruta replied. "How in all the galaxy is that droid gonna find your friend?" Ezra asked sounding a bit skeptical before Chopped let out an annoyed warble.

"Well, I heard he was last seen in the Seelos system. You can start there." she replied. "You're not coming with us?" the Padawan asked as she made for the door. "I have something else to attend to." she replied. "The Sith Lord." her son realized.

"There are questions, questions that need answering." she replied cryptically. "I wish we could go with you." he said as she turned to face him. "You have your own mission, Ezra. And, Kanan, if you find my friend, you must trust him." she said before turning to the older Jedi.

"If he's all the things you say, we can't afford not to." he replied. "Trust him." she stressed lightly before the door closed. "What was that about?" the younger teen asked. "I have no idea." his Master replied before sitting down in the co-pilot seat as Hera detached the ship from _Liberator_ and entered hyperspace.

"Do you know who your mom is talking about?" the Mandalorian girl asked her boyfriend before getting a shrug in return. "No idea. Before I met you guys, my dad did't want me getting involved with Rebellion. So whoever my mom is talking about I have no idea who they are." he explained.

Once the ship dropped out of hyperspace the crew, minus Hera and Chopper who had stayed behind to fix the hyperdrive, took the _Phantom _down to the planet. "Well, let's fire this thing up. I think it's scanning for a signal of some kind." Sabine said as she connected the droid head to the shuttle's console before it started beeping.

"Good luck. You could really get lost out here." Ezra said dryly. "Maybe that was the idea. What if this great commander we're looking for doesn't want to be found?" Zeb asked from where he sat in the back of the _Phantom_.

"7567. 7567." the droid head suddenly spoke as Anakin frowned. _'7567? Why does that number sound so familiar...?' _"It's homing in on something." his girlfriend said as the head continued to repeat the numbers.

"There. Up ahead." the Lasat said, stepping up behind Kanan and pointing ahead before they saw something in the distance. "Whoa..." Ezra said in awe as they came up beside an old modified AT-TE. "Now that is a work of art." Sabine complimented. "Looks like an old Republic tank, used during the Clone Wars." the older Jedi said.

Kanan brought them around to the back of the tank and before landing the shuttle. "Ezra, be on guard." Kanan said to his apprentice after the group exited the shuttle before making their way to the front. After a few minutes three old men with the same face came out of the tank and stepped out onto the makeshift balcony.

Anakin's eyes narrowed behind his helmet upon noticing they looked familiar. "It's just a bunch of old geezers." Zeb said as he folded his arms. "Well-armed old geezers." Sabine commented. "What do you want?" the middle on asked as he leaned against the railing. "We're looking for someone." the older Jedi replied.

"Well, that's too bad, 'cause there's nobody out here." the middle one said. "Hey, uh, does the number 7567 mean anything to you?" Ezra asked him. That seemed to get the old man's attention as he suddenly stood up straight.

"What did you just say?" he asked sounding surprised as the other two stood to attention as well. "Uh, I said 7567." the younger teen replied. "I haven't heard those digits in... Well, that's my birth number." he said mostly to himself.

"Birth number?" the Padawan mumbled as Anakin smiled behind his helmet upon realizing who the middle one was. _'Rex!'_

"They're clones!" Kanan realized, shooting the three a glare before stepping forward and igniting his saber. "Kanan, wait. Stop!" Anakin exclaimed as he tried grabbing the older man's shoulder. "Jedi! They've come for revenge!" the left clone exclaimed before aiming his DC-15 at them and firing two shots.

"Drop the blaster, old man!" Zeb growled as he and Sabine readied their blasters. "Don't try it, boyo! I'll gun you down." the right clone said, aiming his DC-15 before Rex pushed the barrel down with his hand.

"Stand down, troopers. Now! That's an order, soldier." he ordered the other two. "But he's a Jedi. A Jedi!" the left one exclaimed before the middle one managed to calm him. "Kanan, my mom said to trust him." the former merc reminded.

"Sorry about the, um, weapons malfunction. My friend here is just a little defensive. See, we haven't seen a Jedi since, uh. Well, it's been a while." Rex apologized before Kanan sheathed his saber as Ezra stepped forward.

"Well, my name's Ezra. This is Kanan. That's Sabine, Zeb and Anakin. It's nice to meet you, 7567." the Padawan said, gesturing to each, and while Rex's eyes widened a bit when he said the former merc's name, Zeb and Sabine holstered their blasters.

"Actually my name is Rex. Captain, 501st Clone Battalion. Meet Commanders Gregor and Wolffe." the clone captain said while gesturing to the other two. "We were sent by Ahsoka Tano." Ezra explained.

"Ahsoka Tano. I fought by her side from the Battle of Christophsis to the siege of Mandalore. And a friend of hers is a friend of mine." Rex said with a smile.

After Kanan moved the shuttle onto the makeshift landing pad of the AT-TE, Rex lead them into the command room of the tank where Gregor and Wolffe were already waiting. "Hey. You're a big one, aren't you?" Gregor commented with a smile as Zeb passed him. "Bigger than you." the Lasat replied with a small glare.

"Whoa." Ezra said in awe as he picked up Rex's Phase II helmet while said clone sat in one of the chairs. "Hey, hey. Easy with those, son." the clone told him as the younger teen dropped it back onto the table.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I might move the dust." he said sarcastically with a smirk while the two in Mandalorian armor removed their helmets. "How is Commander Tano?" Rex asked.

"Uh, well, in need of help. We all are. Look, we're trying to fight the Empire, but we're outnumbered, overmatched and taking a beating. We could use your help." the younger Jedi explained as he took a few steps towards the clone.

"Well, I'm not sure I'm much help to anyone these days. Didn't you hear? The Emperor said the clone army has outserved its purpose and retired us. Now we spend our days just telling stories and slinging for joopas." the Captain replied as he leaned back in the chair and folded his hands behind his head.

"This was a wasted trip. You heard the clone. He's not interested." Kanan said with a frustrated groan before making his way towards the door. "Wait. You don't like the Empire, do you?" Anakin asked him as the older Jedi stopped.

"Well, the Empire certainly isn't the Republic, but you can't do anything about that." he replied. "You could fight." the older teen said. "Sorry, son. My days as a soldier are over." Rex replied.

"Well, okay. Okay, then maybe there's one thing you can help us with. We need a base. Mom said you knew about all sorts of secret locations in the Outer Rim." the former merc said as the clone looked at brothers before sitting up in the chair.

"Well, my memory isn't what it once was, but, um, there are a few spots I never bothered to report to the Empire. Look, why don't you wait outside and I'll put together a list of coordinates." he suggested as he stood before Anakin and the other rebels headed back outside to the balcony.

Anakin stretched his arms from where he and Sabine were leaning against the railing before resting an arm around her and sharing a smile. "You know, I was thinking, since we're providing you with a list of bases, um, there's something you can do to help us." Gregor suggested as he joined them on the back balcony.

"No, thanks." Kanan replied. "Sure. What can we do?" his Padawan asked with a smile. "Out there, deep below, roam the joopa. Elusive big game. When we're lucky enough to sling one in, it'll feed us for the whole year." the clone explained, mirroring the younger teen's smile as he gestured outward at the salt desert before leaning against the railing.

"Okay. What do you need?" the former merc's girlfriend asked him. "Him." the clone replied while pointing at Zeb. "What?" he asked, sounding confused while turning to face them.

After being fitted with a backpack that connected it to a regulator attached to the top of the main gun via a laser line, Zeb climbed down to the planet's surface and started walking ahead of the AT-TE as Wolffe drove behind him.

"If we're lucky, we'll catch Big Bongo today." Gregor called down to him as Ezra joined the clone and two older teens on the front balcony. "Let's get this over with. I'm getting hungry." the Lasat complained. "Keep on going forward. Just a little bit more. We're coming up on a hot spot!" the clone replied excitedly.

"Your hot spot looks like everywhere else on this desolate rock." Zeb grumbled stopping as they all heard something move in the distance. "Out there!" Sabine said as she pointed ahead.

"All right, full stop." Rex ordered from where he sat at the main cannon's controls before Wolffe pulled the tank into a full stop as ordered. "All right. Just a little bit more. Little more." Gregor said after a moment of silence before turning to the teens as Zeb started moving forward slowly.

"You know, we really appreciate this. I mean, we, we should do well today, with your friend here." the clone added with a smile. "Yeah, well, Zeb packs quite a punch." the Padawan said.

"Oh, oh. I'm sure, I'm sure. But really, I mean, joopa supposedly love Lasats." Gregor replied before Anakin's eyes widened in horror upon realizing what the clone meant. "Oh, shit!" he swore as his girlfriend gave him a confused look before turning her attention to Gregor.

"They love them? What do you mean?" she asked, giving him a confused look. "Well, they say they love the smell, or I guess they love the taste as well. And maybe it's about the texture. You know..." he trailed off, smile still plastered on his face before Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose.

"He means Zeb's the bait not the hunter." Ahsoka's son pointed out. "Oh, hunter, bait, it's all the same." the clone waved off as he turned back around towards the Lasat. "No, it's not!" Kanan snapped from where he stood by the gun's barrel before they heard another rumble, only closer this time.

"Zeb, you better get back here right now!" the older Jedi exclaimed urgently. "Zeb, what is that?" Sabine yelled as fissures started opening up in the ground. "Buddy, run! You're the bait! Zeb, it's gonna eat you!" Ezra yelled as the fissures opened closer to their friend.

"Zeb, run!" Kanan yelled. "Get out of there!" Anakin yelled. "What are you doing?!" the older Jedi exclaimed. "Run!" the Mandalorian girl yelled before the ground cracked and they saw a big long tongue wrap around him.

"Zeb, no!" the Padawan yelled in horror as the Lasat disappeared underground. "Whoo-hoo! This could be him! Our Big Bongo!" Gregor exclaimed with excitement as the laser line was moving away from them quickly while Wolffe started driving forward again.

"Hey, I bet you know a thing or two about mechanics." Rex said to Sabine as he got her attention. "Yeah, good bet." she replied with a smirk. "Keep an eye on this regulator. The line can overheat and shut down. No line, no joopa, no Zeb." he explained while gesturing to the arm-thick red and yellow wires.

"Got it." she replied before hopping up beside the main gun. "What about us?" Ezra asked the Clone Captain.

"You got the best job of all! When the line swings around, you'll charge it with the electro-poles. Hit the line with the rod, and it'll send a bolt of energy down to the joopa. Do it enough, and you should bring it up to the surface." Gregor explained as he handed an electrostaff to both teens.

"Here's one for you, General." the clone said to Kanan as he held another electrostaff out to him. "Don't call me that. I was never a general." the Jedi replied with a glare. "Uh, my mistake. Sorry, Commander." Gregor apologized.

"No, it's not-" Kanan cut himself off with another frustrated groan as he took the electrostaff from the clone before walking over to the laser line.

"Hit it! Now!" Rex said quickly after Wolffe turned the tank in order to keep up with the joopa. The three Force-wielders quickly pressed one end of their staffs to the line which in turn sent a jolt down it.

After getting shocked the joopa tried putting some distance between it and the tank. "That's it! That's it! Ooh! He didn't like that! Hit him again!" Gregor exclaimed in excitement before the three sent another jolt down the line.

"He's a runnin'. Hit that line! Bring him up." Rex said before Ezra jumped onto the railing and tried reaching the line with his staff while Kanan and Anakin helped steady him so he wouldn't fall.

"We're losing the regulator!" Sabine warned. "Full stop, Wolffe! Dig in! This is where we finish the battle!" the Captain said as Wolffe stopped the tank and tried to keep it from being dragged by the joopa.

"Whoa! I can't reach it! Lift me up!" Ezra excalimed to the other two Force-sensitives before they both used their free hand to try lifting close to the line. "Sabine!" he yelled as the line became thinner from a lack of power. "I know, I know. Working on it!" she yelled back. "Got it!" she said after the line returned to full power a few seconds later.

Kanan and Anakin barely managed to keep from falling and dropping the younger teen as the joopa made the tank shake before the older Jedi handed his apprentice his staff and the teen sent another jolt through it.

The last jolt seemed to do the trick as the joopa finally emerged from the ground screeching. "Go!" Kanan said urgently as the massive joopa towered over them as he and Anakin let the Padawan down.

As soon as the joopa roared at them Rex quickly fired a shot into it's mouth, killing the creature before the line disappeared as the joopa fell onto its side. After a few seconds passed the mouth suddenly opened to reveal Zeb, unhurt and covered in joopa saliva. "What a smell." he complained with a disgusted groan.

"Ah, Zeb!" Ezra exclaimed in relief. "Nice catch, old-timers." the Mandalorian girl complimented with a smile as she folded her arms and turned to her head to the side to look at Rex who saluted in reply. "Yeah! Way to go. Now that, that was impressive." Gregor complimented with a laugh as he climbed down the ladder and dropped onto the ground before running over to Zeb and the joopa.

"Impressive? You almost got my friend eaten!" Kanan snapped as the clone helped Zeb up. "Yeah. Ugh. I was in that thing's mouth!" he growled while pushing away from Gregor. "Oh! Head to toe. But look at you. You brought in our biggest catch ever." he complimented with a grin while turning the Lasat around to look at the joopa.

"I- I did? Actually, it wasn't so bad, Kanan. I knew I had the beast from the beginning." he said with a proud smile while turning back around. "And you are a natural." Rex said to the younger Jedi after climbing down the small ladder that lead to the gun controls and landing pad.

"It's gonna be delicious!" Gregor exclaimed excitedly as Wolffe, Sabine and Anakin climbed down to the ground and walked over to him and Zeb. "That thing tried to eat me. Only fair I get to see how it tastes." the Lasat said with a smile while placing the back of his hands on his hips.

"Can't say no to that. Right, Kanan?" Ezra asked as Kanan shook his head in annoyance.

* * *

_Seelos: Sunset_

The three teens were hanging out on the back balcony of the tank when Rex suddenly stepped through the door. "I've assembled a list of potential bases and clearance codes and a few protocols the Imperials still use. Should be of some use." he explained to them.

"Thanks, Rex." Anakin replied with a smile. "They're on our main computer. You're gonna need-" he started while gesturing to the door with his thumb before Sabine cut him off while smirking. "Data tapes? I got this." she said before heading back inside with her boyfriend right behind.

Sabine pressed a few buttons on a console before they both noticed a datapad displaying the Empire's logo on it. Both their eyes widened when they realized one the clones had contacted the Empire, along with messages from Anakin's mother that were never answered. _'There's no way Rex is the one who did it!'_

"The clones gave us up. They warned the Empire we're here." she said while shooting a glare at Rex and Wolffe as they stepped out onto the balcony. "Wait, what?" Ezra asked in surprise. "You're mistaken. We would never do that." the Clone Captain defended.

"Oh, We found the binary transmission to the Empire. And there are messages Ahsoka sent to Rex, and he never answered her!" she accused. "What? I never got any messages from Commander Tano." Rex replied, sounding genuinely confused as he took the datapad and looked through it.

"I knew it! I told you, they can't be trusted." Kanan growled, walking up to them before Ezra stopped him. "Kanan, wait. Is this true?" his apprentice asked before Rex turned to face Wolffe who was looking out towards the salt desert.

"Wolffe. What did you do?" he asked his brother. "I- I contacted the Empire. If they found out that we were helping Jedi, they'd wipe us out." he admitted. "Sabine, go warn Hera. Tell her to scan for incoming ships." the older Jedi ordered her quickly before she took off towards the shuttle as Wolffe turned to face Rex.

"I wanted to protect you guys, protect our squad." Wolffe defended before Rex grabbed his shoulders gently but firmly. "The war is over. We are free men. We can't live under the fear of the Empire for the rest of our lives, Wolffe. That's not freedom." he explained while letting go as a look of regret washed over the other clone's face.

"You're right. They're not our enemy. I'm sorry." he apologized.

"Anakin!" Sabine suddenly yelled, getting the others attention just in time to see blaster bolts fly overhead. Worried for girlfriend, the former merc Force-jumped and landed beside the _Phantom_ and behind Sabine before both dodged two shots from a probe droid.

Anakin quickly followed it around the shuttle as it tried to flee before diving as it fired off two more bolts, one hitting the back of the shuttle and another hitting the roof of the tank.

The Mandalorian girl's boyfriend watched it float off the left side of the tank as he stood back up before quickly jumping off the side and landing, just as reached the other side of the tank.

Just as he was about to use the Force, a blue blaster bolt hit the droid before it exploded. The former merc shrugged before Force-jumping back up to the shuttle. "Huh. Nice shot." Sabine complimented the Captain with a smile.

The Mandalorian girl and her boyfriend walked up to the remains of the droid where Rex and the other rebels were currently standing around it. "How long has this thing been watching us?" the younger teen asked while looking at Kanan.

"Long enough." Kanan replied with his arms folded. "How's the _Phantom_?" he asked Sabine as she and Anakin stopped in front of them. "Well, engine took a direct hit. We're not going anywhere until I can fix it." she replied. "Wait. You mean we're stranded?" the Lasat asked.

"Yep. And the Empire's on its way." Rex replied grimly as they all looked up at the sky.

**Chapter 14 is now done.**


	15. Relics of the Old Republic

_Seelos: The next morning_

Anakin and Sabine worked on fixing the _Phantom _a bit before she contacted Kanan on her comm to update him on it's status. "The probe hit us pretty badly. Repairs are gonna take a little while longer." she told him.

"_We don't have much time. There's no telling when the Empire will get here. We've got to get off the surface._" he replied as his tone took on a worried edge before the ex-merc peeked around the left side of the shuttle and lowered his helmet's antenna. "Well, the Empire's not our only problem. There's a storm coming up behind us." he said over his girlfriend's comm before raising the antenna back up.

"_If the Empire gets here before we take off, the storm will be the least of our problems._" the Jedi replied grimly before cutting off as the couple went back to work on the shuttle.

Roughly ten minutes later the two teens heard the familiar sound of TIE engine and looked up to see one closing in on their position. "Shit! Inside, now!" Anakin said quickly before they exited the shuttle and hopped down to the back entrance of the AT-TE just as one of the TIE opened fire.

"They found us." Sabine warned as she and Anakin entered the command room. "Guess that search pattern paid off." Ezra commented. "Battle stations." Rex ordered his brothers before they opened a crate full of Republic weaponry.

Walking over to the crate, the former merc's eyes widened as he noticed a certain blaster inside before picking it up. _'Holy shit! A DC-17m? Dad's been looking everywhere for one of these!' _the ex-merc inspected it for a few seconds before turning to Rex. "Mind if I use this?" he asked with a smile. "Be my guest, kid." the captain replied, mirroring his smile.

Once everyone was set, they all made their way to the top of the walker just as the TIE flew overhead. "Hurry! He's coming around for another pass." the Mandalorian girl warned before making her way to the front of the cannon as Zeb readied his borrowed Z-6 rotary blaster cannon and her boyfriend took aim with the DC-17m. "Ezra, protect the _Phantom_." Kanan ordered as he and his Padawan ignited their sabers. "What about the tank?" the younger Jedi asked.

"It can take a hit." he replied before mumbling mostly to himself, "I think.". A few seconds later the TIE was now flying towards them and opened fire before Sabine returned it with her borrowed DC-15A at the same time Anakin and Zeb started shooting.

"Try shortening your leads. You're wasting ammo." Rex said from the left front ladder as he climbed up while holding an RPS-6 rocket launcher. "You're welcome to help." the Lasat shot back as he continued shooting. "Eh, why spoil the fun? We haven't been shot at in years." Gregor said cheerfully after climbing up the right rear ladder.

"Seems to happen to us every day." Anakin said as the TIE stopped firing before passing overhead again. "Why doesn't someone man the big gun?" Ezra suggested to the two clones. "That's no good in this situation." Rex answered.

"Oh. Kinda like you guys." Kanan said sarcastically as he climbed to the top of the shuttle just before the TIE made its way towards them again.

Anakin quickly holstered the blaster before climbing up onto the shuttle then to everyones shock, Force-jumped onto the TIE. The pilot jumped in his seat from surprise as the teen held on with one hand while the other waved mockingly at the Imperial before climbing onto one of the wings.

The teen channeled the Force to give him a boost of strength and with all his might, pulled the TIE into an uncontrollable spin before pushing off while simultaneously letting go. Anakin backflipped through the air and landed on the top of the shuttle just as the TIE hit the ground and exploded.

The ex-merc wiped some dirt off his chest armor before noticing the shocked looks he was getting. "What?" he asked in confusion.

* * *

_Seelos: An hour later_

A little while later the couple were now back to working on the shuttle as they overheard Ezra and Rex talking. "So, um, what was it like to fight in the Clone War?" the younger teen asked. "I don't think the fighting ever got to Lothal. I tell ya, war was never dull. The general I fought with was among the greatest of the Jedi. I trusted him with my life more times than I can count. And I tried my best to keep that trust." the captain replied.

"All right. With any luck, we can get outta here soon." The Mandalorian girl said. "Well, we can't just leave Rex, Wolffe and Gregor here." Ezra said. "Well, the Empire is here because of us. We'll deal with the consequences." the captain replied as Zeb and Wolffe joined them.

"Wait. Listen. You hear that?" the Lasat asked as they started hearing loud clanking. "Enemy contact. Point-2-4." Wolffe said, pointing ahead where three large figures were seen before he, Kanan, Rex and Zeb took a look through their macrobinoculars and the two in Mandalorian armor lowered their antennas. _'Shit... Walkers.'_

Rex and Wolffe climbed down the two ladders to join Gregor on front balcony while the rebels remained with the _Phantom_. After a few minutes Rex and Gregor came back up the front right ladder and while Gregor continued towards the opposite end ladder, Rex quickly took the main gun's seat.

"Gregor, drop the joopa. We gotta get moving." the captain said over the AT-TE's comm before Anakin saw the joopa hit the salted ground. "Wolffe, turn 180." Rex ordered. "_Copy that._" came the other clone's reply before the tank started turning right and towards the storm.

Anakin activated his green blade before casually swinging and deflecting an AT-AT blast into the sky. "Amateurs." the teen scoffed right before his girlfriend exited the shuttle without her helmet and holding a wrench.

"Kanan. I'm not sure how far we'll get, but I think she'll fly." she said while wiping her forehead. "Good enough for me." he replied before taking his comm out. "Zeb, we're going now." he said to the Lasat.

"Too late. The walkers are already on top of us." the captain said. "He's right. They'll shoot us down as soon as we take off." the ex-merc spoke in agreement. "How will going into that storm be any better?" the older Jedi asked, sounding frustrated.

"Well, the storm will scramble the scanners. We'll all be blind." Sabine said. "But a Jedi won't." Rex replied. Kanan looked at the ground for a moment before turing his attention back to the clone.

"All right, everybody inside." Kanan ordered before they made for the rear right ladder one at a time.

* * *

_Seelos: AT-TE command room_

"We're not gonna be able to hide in this storm forever." Ezra said. "Those things are practically impervious to blasters, but they have one weak point in their armor, the neck." Sabine explained.

"One well-placed shot from the main gun should destroy it." Gregor added. "That's all we might get, one shot." Rex replied. "I don't know how we're supposed to shoot something we can't see. I don't even know where the enemy is." Zeb grumbled as he looked at the scrambled image on the main console's screen.

"You don't always have to see something to know where it is. If you're willing to trust me, I can get us that shot." Kanan said, taking a few steps forward. "I always trust my general." the captain replied before the older Jedi closed his eyes and held his hand out.

Roughly a minute went by before Kanan spoke again. "Prepare to stop, now." he said before Wolffe pulled the tank into a full stop. The clones and rebels heard the sound of an AT-AT walk close-by as the older Jedi continued focusing.

"Commander Wolffe, circle left, double time." the Jedi ordered before the walker started to turn. "Full stop!" Kanan ordered as the walker stopped moving and the Jedi opened his eyes. "Shit. We're surrounded." Anakin swore grimly. "He's right." Kanan confirmed. "What?" the younger Jedi asked in surprise.

"You put us right in the middle of 'em to get us a shot. It's crazy, but it's probably our best chance." Rex said. "Once we fire, we'll reveal our location. If we miss, it's all over." Sabine warned. "I'll take the shot." Gregor said as he stood up from his seat. "No, Ezra should take the shot." Kanan said. "Uh, why not Anakin?" his Padawan asked, sounding somewhat nervous at the thought of shooting the neck of an AT-AT. "Yeah, sure. Why not?." the ex-merc replied.

"Sabine, spot him." the captain said, getting a nod and smile in return before she put her helmet back on and made for the exit with her boyfriend following. "Hey, kid."he called out, getting their attention "Do your dad proud." he said with a small smile while folding his arms and getting a nod in return before they continued out the door

Upon exiting to the roof, both held their arms up as they walked through the storm and made their way to the cannon before Anakin sat down in the chair. "Try not to miss." his girlfriend teased. "Very funny." he replied dryly.

"_Anakin, there's a walker somewhere around Point-5._" Kanan said over the teen's helmet comm. "'Somewhere around Point-5.'? Real helpful." he replied sarcastically before turning the cannon right.

Seeing two lights in the distance, the teen took aim and waited for the right moment to shoot. A few minutes passed before he saw an opening. "Beware my power, asshole." the ex-merc said before shooting a blast at the walker. "What? I heard it in a movie." he said to his girlfriend with a shrug after sensing some bewilderment from her.

The couple turned their attention back to the walker just in time to see an explosion appear right were its neck was. "It's down." Anakin said to the older Jedi over his comm after he and Sabine watched the walker fall over in a blaze of fire.

* * *

_Seelos: Other side of the storm_

"Great shot, kid. Now get yourself moving. This is your only chance." Rex said after he and the other rebels came out onto the platform. "What? We can't leave now." Ezra protested. "We have to get the information they gave us back to the Rebellion." Kanan replied sternly before the others entered the tank again.

"Ezra's right. Plus the other part of that mission is to bring Rex back with us. We can't just abandon them. He's family to me." Anakin said. "You're not abandoning anyone. We're covering your escape. Now, move." Rex ordered gently yet firmly while placing a hand on the shoulder of his former general and commander's son.

Kanan gave one last look at the clone before entering the tank with his Padawan reluctantly following. Once they were gone, the clone removed his hand before offering it to the teen. The two clasped forearms before Rex gave him a smile.

"We're soldiers, kid. This is what we were born to do." he assured, getting a solemn nod in return before pulling his hand away. "I'm glad I got to meet you, Rex..." Anakin said solemly. "Likewise, kid." the captain responded before the teen turned around. Anakin took one last look at the smiling clone before following after the others.

* * *

_Seelos: Abord the _Phantom

"Kanan, you know better than anyone. They won't give up. This fight is gonna be their last." Ezra said solemnly as the older Jedi piloted the shuttle. From where he sat beside his girlfriend, Anakin felt sick to his stomach at the thought of abandoning not only one of his parents' last remaining friends from the Clone War, but also a friend they considered family.

_'Mom's gonna be devastated when she finds out about this. And there's no telling how dad'll react...'_ the ex-merc's thoughts drifted as Kanan contacted Hera and brought her up to speed.

"_It's too bad about Captain Rex, but at least you got the intel. I'll rendezvous with you shortly._" she said softly. "Copy that." he replied before cutting off. "What am I gonna tell my mom... Clone or not, she considers him family..." Anakin trailed off before Sabine gently grabbed his left hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

"I hate it when you're right. I've got my problems with clones, but I don't want those men to die." the older man said, turning the autopilot on before spinning the chair around and standing up while earning a smile from everyone, even Anakin.

With Sabine now piloting the shuttle, she quickly flew them back towards the walker before shooting a few shots at the one shooting the AT-TE. Once overhead, Anakin and the Jedi jumped out and landed on the top before the later two activated their sabers and started cutting around the hatch.

Anakin grabbed the hatch once it was cut all the way around and tossed it away before jumping down into the cockpit. "What was that?" the pilot questioned the co-pilot before the ex-merc grabbed both by the helmets and slammed them together just as the Jedi joined him inside the cockpit.

"Uh-Uh, I'm doing driving." Anakin said, stopping Kanan from sitting in the pilot seat before sitting in it himself as the older Jedi instead took the co-pilot chair. The teen took aim before opening fire on the other walker. While the shots from their commandeered walker weren't quite enough to destroy the other one, it did give the the clones an opportunity to take a shot at the neck, which is exactly what Rex did a few seconds later.

The three Force-wielders watched as the neck exploded and the walker fall to the ground. The two teens smiled at the sight of it and the older teen even noticed out of the corner of his eye that Kanan seemed happy too. _'Hopefully he'll fully come around to being friends with them someday.' _

Anakin snickered when he suddenly noticed Kallus driving away on a speeder bike with one of the pilots running behind and decided to take a few shots at them for fun. The ex-merc drove the walker over to the clones who were currently pulling themselves up onto the remains of their home before the three rebels exited to the roof of the walker.

As soon as the clones saw them they smiled and saluted before earning a nod in return from Kanan. Everyones attention soon turned to the _Ghost_ once it descended close to Anakin and the Jedi before they noticed Hera smiling at them and Chopper waving. The teen chuckled at the droid's antics. "Come on, I think it's time to go home." he said, earning a smile and nod from the two Jedi.

* * *

_Space: Phoenix_ _squadron_

The _Ghost _crew entered Ahsoka's corvette and turned one of the corners leading into a hallway with said woman at the other end. Ahsoka turned to face them, but before she could utter a word, the rebels moved aside to let Rex walk past them. The captain stopped in front of them and clasped his hands behind him.

"Commander." he greeted formally with a small smile on his face. The Togruta's surprised expression turned into a smirk that mirrored his before she walked up to him. "You got old." he joked as she shook her head and smiled. "Had to happen sometime, Rex." she replied, a sliver of snippiness in her tone before hugging him.

The crew watched the reunion with smiles on their face, even Kanan. "I'm glad you're still alive." he said, returning the hug. "You too." she replied while separating from the hug. "Well, I wouldn't be if it weren't for these guys. Especially your son." Rex praised, moving aside a bit.

"You and dad would never abandon family, and neither will I." her son replied, earning a brighter smile from her. "Speaking of. Where is General Revan?" the clone asked as her smile dimmed a bit. "He went searching for his heritage some years ago." she replied. Knowing her well, the captain decided not to pry and simply nodded.

"Thank you for trusting my friend." she said to Kanan after turning her attention to him. "It wasn't easy. It's still not..." he said, trailing off a bit. "Nothing worth doing ever is." she replied.

**Chapter 15 done. Apologies it took so long, writers block just... it's hard to explain, you know? Don't worry though, I won't let it sink its claws into me, this story will be finished. Even if it takes years.**


	16. Always Two There Are

_Phoenix squadron, _Ghost_:_

Stretching out in the chair beside Sabine's, Anakin was currently relaxing as she touched up the paint on her helmet while Zeb and Rex were playing Dejarik. Chopper was standing beside her as the two Jedi entered the room.

"Let's end today's lesson by levitating Chopper." Kanan suggested. "If I do, can I drop him?" the younger teen asked as said droid turned to face him while warbling in annoyance. "Sure." the older man agreed with a shrug, earning an annoyed warble from the droid too.

Before the younger teen could start Rex let out a triumphant laugh, catching everyone but the Lasat's attention, who instead let out a groan. "Chalk another one up for the clone." the captain said.

Zeb chuckled lightly. "Takes more than brawn to win this game, big guy." Rex said to him with a small smile. "Maybe I let you win, old guy." he replied with a grin. "Lock it down." the Mandalorian girl said to Chopper quietly after noticing Ezra getting ready to start.

"Come on Ezra, focus." Kanan said the younger teen closed his eyes and held his hand out while Chopper warbled. "Focus. Use the Force. Look through the Force. Lift Chopper up, picture it in your mind." the older Jedi instructed as Sabine smirked and the droid warbled again.

"I can't. I- I can't do it." Ezra said, looking a bit down at his failure. "Hey, kid, while you're looking through the Force, don't forget to look with your eyes too. The droid's got his feet locked down." the clone explained while gesturing to Chopper's legs.

The Padawan glared at the droid while Sabine burst out in laughter. While he normally found her jokes on Ezra funny, playing a prank on the kid when it came to Force training wasn't very funny to her boyfriend, since he too knew what it was like to struggle when it came to that kind of training.

Ezra sighed in frustration. "It's not fair." he complained. "Real battles usually aren't." his master replied. "The Jedi general I served combined the Force with his wits and it made him a great warrior." Rex said as he stood up from his seat.

"Ezra's got plenty of wits. What he needs is more discipline." the older Jedi said sternly as he walked up to Rex. "Well, then you better let a soldier handle that." the clone replied with a smirk, clasping his hands behind him just as Hera entered the room.

"Excuse me?" the older Jedi said with frown and sounding offended. "Sabine, I have a mission for you, Anakin and Chop. Thanks to Captain Rex I've found an old base where we might be able to salvage some much needed medical supplies." the Twi'lek explained while showing them a datapad before turning her attention to Zeb.

"Zeb." she called out. "Hmm. Huh?" he asked, snapping out of his thoughts and giving her his attention. "You should go to." she replied, earning a sigh in return. "Better find the med supplies quick, Captain wits is about to need them." the older Jedi said mockingly with a grin. Rex chuckled dryly.

"So, there's where the boy's lack of discipline comes from. Hmm?" he replied. "You're saying I lack discipline?" Kanan asked, sounding insulted. "Yeah, that's exactly what I said." the clone replied. "Here we go again." the Padawan mumbled as Zeb, Anakin and Sabine climbed up the ladder behind him one at a time.

"Hey, you weren't assigned this mission." Zeb said to Ezra after he climbed up ladder and entered the _Phantom_. "I assigned myself. I'd rather deal with the dangers out there than stay in the crossfire here." the kid replied after closing the hatch.

"You say that now." Anakin stated before his girlfriend detached the shuttle and piloted it away from Phoenix squadron.

* * *

_Republic medical station:_

"What is this place?" Ezra asked in awe as the Mandalorian girl flew the shuttle around to find a docking bay. "It's an old Republic medical station. It was abandoned after the Clone Wars." she replied.

A few seconds later they finally reached a docking bay before Sabine entered Rex's codes and the group watched the blast doors open. "What do you know? Rex's codes worked." she said before moving the ship forward.

Once the shuttle landed and the station's blast doors closed they exited the ship. Chopper warbled nervously at the almost pitch black docking bay.

"Oh, come on Chop, it's not so creepy, just dark. Nothing we can't handle." Ezra assured the droid as Sabine turned her flashlight on and her boyfriend activated his helmet's built-in night vision mode before making their way towards a set of blast doors.

The Mandalorian girl walked up to the panel beside it a pressed a button. "Yep, I was afraid of this; no power." she said after moment of waiting for the door to open. "I'm on it." Zeb said before prying it open with his hands.

Everyone made made their way around the Lasat before he let the door close behind him. The group walked down the dark hallway that was only partly illuminated by Sabine's flashlight and Chopper's built in one before turning left at a three-way junction.

Walking up to the right-hand wall, Sabine lowered to one knee before taking her airbrush off her belt and painting a purple starbird on the wall. "A starbird again? Ever think of expanding your creativity?" her boyfriend asked before she stood and faced him with her hands on her hips.

"This coming from the guy with dull-colored mandalorian armor?" she retorted much to his ire.

"For your information, Wren. Then reason I never painted this was out of respect for my godmother, she's the one who gave it to me when I was a baby, my dad only modified it as I grew. And for the past five years I've been the one modifying it. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't insult my godmother's gift." he said icily before moving past her without a second glance, Zeb and Ezra trailing behind.

Biting her lip, the Mandalorian girl felt guilty, she'd just assumed he didn't paint it out of laziness or lack of care towards the armor. Finding out it was a gift from his godmother caused her to regret what she said and decided to apologize once she had a chance.

A few minute later the group entered a large just after Sabine had caught up to them. "Well, this is the command centre, or what's left of it." she commented. "This might make a good base for us." the Jedi stated as he leaned against an old hologram projector while folding his arms and earning a scoff from the girl.

"No thanks. This place looks like it's about to fall apart." she replied, taking her helmet off and putting it down onto a console before turning and addressing Chopper. "Chopper, power it up." she ordered before the droid rolled over a plugged into a port on the console.

A second later power to the whole station was restored. "I didn't mean the whole station, I meant this control panel." she explained while gesturing to it as the droid warbled. "Hopefully this doesn't attract any attention." the ex-merc said.

* * *

Making himself comfortable, Anakin sat on the older projector as his girlfriend and Chopper worked at the console. "Ok Chopper, shut everything else off except for this one terminal." the teenage girl said to him before he warbled and the lights went out, save for those on the console.

"Hmm. I've got the inventory files, but most are corrupted, unreadable. Can't tell where the med supplies are or if they even exist." Sabine said as she turned to face the others while leaning against the console.

"Change of plans then. Chopper stays here and repairs the files while we search for the supplies." her boyfriend said as he hopped off his makeshift seat and started walking towards the opposite corridor with Ezra and Zeb following.

"Well, it's worth a try, I guess." she replied while putting her helmet back on and following them as the younger teen activated his saber for light.

"Why don't you put those Jedi powers to use finding the medical supplies, so we can get out of here?" the Lasat asked the two Force-wielders, half serious half mocking. "That's not how the Force works, Zeb." the ex-merc replied.

"Besides, I don't need my Jedi powers to find them before you do." the kid taunted with a smirk. "What's that supposed to mean?" Zeb asked, frowning before they stopped and Ezra sheathed his blade while turning to face him.

"Well, generally it means I'm more perceptive, I can think on my feet, and I'm faster." the Padawan taunted, smirk still present. "Really?" the Lasat growled. "Enough. We don't have time for a dick-measuring contest, so I suggest getting a move on. The faster we find the supplies the better." Anakin said impatiently as he cut them off.

"I'll find them first." the Jedi stated cockily before taking off down the corridor. "Cocky kid, gonna run right past them." Zeb growled before chasing after him as the ex-merc shook his head. _'Honestly...'_

The couple turned the corner just in time to see a few crates fall over, one of them falling on the Lasat and pinning him down. "So not fair." he complained. "Fights rarely are. Next time, keep your head down and you won't get hit." Ezra chuckled before turning around and walking into a partially closed blast door.

The kid groaned lightly from where he'd fallen to floor as Sabine walked up to him and illuminated his face with flashlight while Anakin helped Zeb push the crate off. "Maybe you should follow your own advice." the ex-merc said dryly.

* * *

_'Oh, boy... memories of those horror holos I watched as a kid are starting to come back__...' _Anakin thought as he and the others continued making their way through the station before Chopper's frantic warbling was suddenly heard over the Padawan's comm.

"It's Chopper. Say again. You need help?" he asked before the comm was suddenly cut off on the droid's end. "What's going on?" the Mandalorian girl asked him as she turned around.

"I don't know, it sounded like Chopper said he needed help." he said, sounding unsure. "Well, better get back up to the command centre." Sabine replied, taking a few steps towards the direction they came from before the kid stopped her.

"How about a shortcut?" the Jedi suggested as they looked up at an open air duct in the ceiling before he jumped up and climbed in. "Can't we go back the way we came?" Zeb asked, looking at the size of the duct with uncertainty as Ezra popped his head over the entrance to look at them.

"That'll take too long. Chopper's in trouble." he replied before Zeb helped Sabine up. Her boyfriend gave the duct a look of uncertainty as well. _'I am a bit thinner than my dad was at this age... Still...' _he thought before reluctantly jumping up and climbing in behind Sabine.

_'Yep. Very tight fit...' _the ex-merc thought as he felt his shoulders rub against the sides of the duct.

The three teens crawled through the duct for a few minutes before Ezra removed a grate above them that lead into a corridor near the commander centre. "Chopper." he called out as he and and the other other two climbed out of the duct one at a time. _'Wait. Where's Zeb?'_ Anakin wondered before laying on his stomach and peeking his head back into the duct.

_'You gotta be kidding... Screw it. We'll go back for him later.' _The ex-merc pulled his head out of the duct and stood back up before joining the other two at a three way junction. "Chopper, where are you?" the Jedi asked as they heard warbling from left and Sabine pointed her flashlight down the corridor.

"Chopper?" Sabine asked warily before they teens saw a floating red eye and a humanoid figure approaching from behind it. Frowning, Anakin slowly reached for one of his saber pouches before opening the flap and waiting.

"What is that?" the kid asked them slowly, not sure what it was. "It looks like a... probe droid?" the Mandalorian girl answered slowly, sounding unsure herself. The three watched a it hovered back and rested on the figure's shoulder.

"My pet told me you were here. I've been searching for you for some time." a feminine voice came out of their mask's voice modulator. "A bounty hunter?" Ezra asked. "Guess again." the woman replied before taking them by surprise as she activated a red lightsaber.

Ezra gasped in shock before a determined look crossed his face as he ignited his own saber. "You're an Inquisitor." he said. "Oh, good, I don't have to explain it to you. So, you know what comes next." she replied as two more probe droids appeared behind her.

"Run!" Sabine exclaimed, shooting at the droids and missing before she and the other two started to retreat back the way they came.

Activating his green blade, the ex-merc swung at the woman at the same time Ezra did after the formers girlfriend moved behind them and continued trying to shoot the droids. "Ah, Anakin Revan. Lord Vader will be most pleased when I bring you before him." the inquisitor said.

"Not gonna happen." he replied before grabbing Ezra with his mechanical hand and shoving him towards Sabine.

"Find Zeb and Chopper! I'll hold her off!" the ex-merc said before turning to his girlfriend. "And, Sabine... I'm sorry about earlier." he apologized softly as the woman broke the saberlock and activated the other side of her blade before it started spinning.

After a moment of hesitation they both did as Anakin said while he was slowing pushed back. "You're not quite as powerful as your father was rumoured to be at your age." she mocked as they traded a few more blows. Unlike his fight with Vader, the young man had no intention of letting this inquisitor get an aggressive reaction out of him.

"This coming from someone who grovels at anothers feet?" he shot back, smirking behind his helmet as he sensed her anger spike at those words while her blows became more aggressive.

As soon as they were back at the junction Anakin instantly noticed another inquisitor with his blade ignited before seeing his friend and girlfriend run past him towards the corridor behind him. "Anakin, come on!" she urged quickly.

Anakin slowly moved back as both inquisitors advanced on him. "Honestly! Do you inquisitors breed like rabbits or something?" he asked, sounding annoyed. Getting no reply in return the ex-merc shook his head before sheathing his blade then releasing a Force-push strong enough to momentarily stagger them.

Using the brief distraction he quickly turned around and took off in order to catch up to the others.

The ex-merc caught up to them just as Sabine was opening a blast door before he and Ezra re-ignited their blades just as the female inquisitor caught up. _'Damn it! I should've Force-pushed hard enough to knock them down.'_

Luckily the Mandalorian girl managed to get the door open before their enemy got any closer. "Go, go, go, go!" she exclaimed urgently, taking off down the corridor with the guys on her heels.

Just as they had made it through an open blast door, Anakin suddenly felt himself stop. "Shit!" he cursed as two probe droids each grabbed a leg before pulling him to the ground and dragging him back towards the female inquisitor.

"Anakin!" his girlfriend exclaimed in horror as she and Ezra started running back to help. "Ezra, get her to safety!" the ex-merc ordered, shaking the droids off before stabbing the blast door control panel, causing it to close.

The son of Revan stood and turned to face the female inquisitor with his blade ready. "Such a noble act, I wonder if your father would've done the same." she said, using the Force to keep him still as her droids pinned him to the door and the second inquisitor appeared behind her.

"For his family? Always." the teen replied through gritted teeth while trying to break free of her hold. "But not quite enough." she patronized while pulling his saber to her other hand.

The ex-merc suddenly noticed the other inquisitor behind her and could only stare in fear as he jumped towards the teen blade ready for the killing blow. Anakin was surprised to see the female block the man's attack.

"I'm surprised to see you here." she said to him. "The kill is mine." he snarled, breaking the saberlock before they both extinguished their blades.

"You know Lord Vader won't be pleased if you kill Revan and Tano's son. We will use the boy as bait to draw in the others. Now, find the girl and the other boy." she ordered, getting a glare in return before he turned and started walking away as she looked back at the ex-merc.

Anakin's attention however was on the male. "If you hurt her, we'll see just how long your intestines are." he threatened darkly, glaring at the man's back as the droid pinning his left arm and right leg released him and followed after the inquisitor.

After he turned the corner, the woman moved her masked face uncomfortably close to his helmeted one. "You and I are gonna have a talk and if you're good, maybe some of your friends will survive." she said, caressing the part of the helmet his left cheek was behind.

"Go spread your legs for Palpatine, you whore." he spat before getting a Force-enhanced backhand slap from her that knocked his helmet off.

* * *

_Republic medical station, command centre:_

Anakin stared at the Force-inhibiting cuffs on his wrists as the woman climbed down off the old holoprojector and faced him from where he was sitting against it. "You handle a lightsaber well, Revan. Truly a credit to your ancestor." she said, looking at the hilt for a second then lowering to one knee.

"I've got some free time if you want a lesson." he replied sarcastically before her mask retracted to show a Mirialan with yellow irises and black sclera. The teen managed to fight some of the blush creeping to his cheeks while gritting his teeth in slight anger. _'Am I seriously attracted to this crazy bitch!?' _

The woman smirked at him. "You have great potential, but perhaps it is I that might teach you as your father left sometime ago, correct?" she replied, standing back up before sitting in a chair a few feet in front of him.

"There's nothing you could teach me. Besides, when he does come back you won't stand a chance against him, just like the Grand Inquisitor didn't stand a chance against Kanan." he shot back.

"Yes, the death of the Grand Inquisitor was a surprise to all. Yet it does present the rest of us with new opportunities." she said with a cold smirk while igniting his blade and standing up.

The woman walked up to him and pointed the tip of the green blade in his face. The ex-merc just stared at her without a trace of fear on his, causing her smirk to falter for a second.

"There are many hunting you now, all intent on killing your Jedi friends. Does that frighten you?" she said leaning close and holding the blade near his neck. Anakin merely tilted his head to look her in the eyes. "The only one here who should be afraid is _you_." he replied, causing her smirk to disappear and glare at him instead.

* * *

After their little verbal spar, the teen went back to staring at his cuffs for a few more minutes before he was abruptly taken off guard by a sudden pain in his heart. _'Sabine! She's been hurt!' _he realized with a pained look on his face before it morphed into one of anger.

The inquisitor looked around at the bulkheads as they started groaning in protest before turning towards the teen and nearly recoiling in fear at the hate-filled glare he was giving her.

Just before she could open her mouth to speak, they both noticed the other inquisitor enter the room with a helmetless Sabine.

Anakin struggled to fight the urge to lunge at him as he shoved her to the ground in front of her boyfriend. The ex-merc glared at him for that. "Keep pushing, asshole. It makes me sending you to the next world all the sweeter." he snarled, earning a glare in return.

Anakin's face softened into a look of concern as he focused on Sabine. "What has the boy revealed?" the male asked his fellow inquisitor. "Nothing I wish to share." she snapped bak before activating her saber and pointing it at the ex-merc threateningly. "Contact your rebel friends and bring them here, that's all I ask." she said to him.

Instead of listening to her, he simply moved his cuffed hands behind his head while crossing one leg over the other. "Blow me." he replied dismissively. Anakin didn't currently need the Force to know she was not only getting pissed at his lack of cooperation but also at every response he gave.

"Contact your friends." she growled, pointing the saber at him again. "What are you, deaf and stupid? I said no." he shot back with an annoyed look before turning his head to his girlfriend. "Sabine, where's Zeb and Ezra?" he asked.

"We tried to fight, but they never had a chance..." she trailed off solemnly. "You mean..." he trailed off. "Your friends are dead." the woman said with a cruel smirk. _'I don't get it, somehow I sensed Sabine in pain with these on, yet I couldn't sense the other two dying...' _his thoughts trailed off as he looked at the cuffs before silently mourning his friends.

* * *

The teens were suddenly broke out of their silent mourning by Anakin's back-up wrist comm going off. "_Hello, Spectre 7. Come in. Do you read? This is Commander Mayloorun._" Zeb's voice rang over the comm. Both teens smiled upon realizing that if Zeb was alive, Ezra must be too. "Answer him." the male inquisitor ordered threateningly.

"Err, Commander Mayloorun, yes, yes, I can hear you." Sabine replied. "_I missed your check-in. Am I correct in assuming mechanical difficulties have got your craft stranded again and you are in need of help with repairs?_" the Lasat asked. After that sentence it was clear he had a plan, one they would probably find out about soon enough.

"Answer him." the woman ordered. "Commander, we, uhh, we can handle everything. No need for you or the others." the Mandalorian girl answered before the man ignited his blade and grabbed her. Anakin shot a murderous glare at him as he held the blade threateningly at her neck.

"Commander, we've changed our minds. We could use some help. Bring Kanan and... better bring my mom too." Anakin said to the Lasat before the inquisitor extinguished his blade and dropped Sabine.

"_Very well. Meet you in Bay 6. And don't worry, we'll fix everything. Just keep your chin up and it'll all be fine._" came the reply before he cut off. _'Zeb, you better know what the hell you're doing.'_

* * *

Both inquisitors escorted the couple down the corridor leading to the _Phantom _before the woman spoke as they stopped in front of the blast door Zeb had to open a few hours ago.

"Once we have the others, we'll dispose of her... very slowly. While Lord Vader will be pleased to have him." the woman said to the other inquisitor while looking at Sabine then Anakin with a smirk on her face. "Over my dead body." the ex-merc snapped as she pressed a button and the door opened.

The four walked into the dark docking bay before a ray shield appeared in front of the large blast door as it opened, allowing the stars to illuminate the room.

"What the hell did he mean by chin up?" Anakin whispered to himself before noticing the shuttle above them. Taking a peek at the man to see he wasn't paying attention, the teen nudged his girlfriend to get her attention before gesturing to the ceiling with his head.

The two saw Zeb and Ezra give them a small wave and thumbs up before the woman's probe droid noticed the shuttle as well and got both inquisitors attention. Seeing that they'd spotted the shuttle, Zeb detached from the ceiling.

"Go!" the Mandalorian girl urged her boyfriend before they quickly ran away from the other two just as Zeb opened fire on them.

_'If only I could get my saber...' _the ex-merc's thoughts trailed off for a second before suddenly remembering he also carried his dad's first lightsaber as well. "Sabin, left pouch." he said before opened it up and took the saber out. Holding out his hands, the girl activated it before cutting the cuffs off then took it from her when she held it out to him.

Anakin gave her a quick peck on the lips before turning around and using the Force to summon his mom's first saber from the inquisitor's belt and into his right hand. Said woman noticed this and shot him a glare as she and the other one continued deflecting Zeb's blasts.

Both ran towards the open back of the shuttle as Zeb swerved around to let them before trying to fly out of the hanger. The shuttle was abruptly stopped when the inquisitors used the Force to try pulling them back.

_'Fuck. We'll never get out of here if we don't take care of these two.' _with that thought the ex-merc jumped out of the shuttle. "Anakin!" Sabine exclaimed in concern. Using the Force the teen closed the door and pushed the shuttle out into space before turning his attention back towards his opponents.

Anakin reignited both blades with a twirl as the inquisitors advanced on him with smirks on their faces. "Let's dance bozos." he taunted, using the same line his dad did years ago.

The ex-merc rushed them before effortlessly blocking both their strikes, much to the woman's shock. "Surprised? You should be. I'm far better in open spaces like this. You may have had the advantage in the corridors but now we're on my playing field." he said before breaking saberlock while kicking the man away.

The woman ignited the other side of her saber before she and the teen traded a few more blows. Seeing an opening a few seconds later, Anakin slashed his green blade upward, causing her to stumble back before he followed it with another upward slash that cleaved her saber and its crystal in two.

Using her momentary shock at seeing her saber destroyed the teen picked her up with the Force before flinging her to the wall on the other side of the room and knocking her out.

Anakin narrowly blocked the other inquisitor's attempt to cleave him in half. The ex-merc could see the man had almost fully recovered from the Force-enhanced kick he'd delivered earlier.

"I will not be as easy to defeat as her." the man snarled while activating his saber's other side. "Shut up and fight." the teen shot back before lunging at him. The inquisitor's words proved to be correct as the teen found himself struggling to overcome the man's brutish attacks which were unlike the woman's more finesse slashes and stabs.

Becoming more frustrated, the teen didn't realize until it was too late that he'd suddenly let his guard down before the man's blade connected with the back of his hand. The ex-merc quietly sighed in relief as he noticed that not only had the beskar plating protected him, but also that it was his mechanical hand that was hit. _'That was too close.'_

Unfortunately the attack had made him instinctively drop his green blade and instead over recovering it, he opted to maintain focus on the duel instead.

The teen took a Djem So stance with the blade held over his head as he and the inquisitor circled each other slowly. The next few seconds became tense before they traded more blows and ended up in a saberlock.

"I sense fear in you, Revan. You have hate. You have anger. But you don't use them." his opponent taunted before breaking the lock. With a glare Anakin went in for a long downward slash then followed with an upward one that cut one of the ends of his opponents saber off before deflecting a strike aimed for his head.

Quickly retaliating, the teen went in for another attack then blocked the follow up attempted stab before noticing both of his opponent's hands were on the hilt.

Thinking quickly he removed his left hand from his own saber before hitting the inquisitor's arms with it, forcing them down a bit before moving his saber underneath the man's wrists and pulling up, effectively cutting his hands off.

The inquisitor stared at the stumps in horror before falling to his knees just as Anakin caught the red blade out of the air then brought them to his opponent's neck in an X shape.

Anakin bit his lip when he realized the position he was in; he could easily end the man's life, right here, right now and stop him from ever hurting anyone ever again. The only catch being, he'd kill an unarmed man, something even his dad tried to refrain from doing as he got older.

The teen wasn't sure what he should do as he looked into the inquisitor's fear filled eyes. The ex-merc's suddenly shook his head as a small headache suddenly formed.

_Good, Anakin, good. Kill him... kill him now._

Blinking a bit as he snapped out of the vision, the teen looked back at the inquisitor and judging by his expression, it was clear he had read the teen's mind during said vision as his expression was now one of horror.

The teen suddenly pulled the sabers away before deactivating both then tossing the red saber to the ground. "No. That's not the way my parents taught me." he said, partly to himself and partly to the inquisitor before summoning his other saber off the ground.

Before anything else could happen the _Phantom _flew back into the docking bay before turning around and landing in front of them. Once the back was open, Sabine made her way over to him before pulling him into a hug.

"Come on, let's get out of here." she said gently after pulling away. Anakin nodded before the two entered the shuttle and Zeb closed the back. "Thanks, Ezra." the ex-merc said with a smile as the kid handed him his helmet while Zeb piloted them out of the hanger.

The teens sat down in the back with couple on one side and the Jedi on the other before Sabine threaded the fingers of her left hand with her boyfriend's mechanical right and gave a comforting squeeze.

"Despite everything, that was a good plan, Zeb." Anakin complimented after a minute of silence. "Let's not get all emotional, it wasn't a big deal. But me and the kid did save both of you and got some medical supplies by ourselves." the Lasat replied, turning his head a bit to give them a half-smile as Chopper warbled.

"Yeah, you helped a little, Chopper." Zeb replied with a smirk as the droid warbled again.

* * *

_Phoenix squadron,_ Ghost_:_

Once Zeb reconnected the shuttle with the _Ghost_, the three teens made their way down first. "Ezra, we need to talk." Kanan said as stood up from the Dejarik table. "Yeah, we do, about the two Inquisitors we just ran into." the kid replied.

"Inquisitors?" the older Jedi asked in surprise as Hera and Rex stood up, all three with surprised looks. "Yes, two. We got lucky, Zeb and Ezra saved us; without them, things could have been bad." Sabine replied while gesturing to herself and her boyfriend first then to Ezra and Zeb who had just descended the ladder.

"Well done, soldier." the clone complimented Zeb as he set down the box of medical supplies. "It was a group effort. Those Inquisitors are nasty business. Kanan, why didn't you tell us there were more of them?" the Lasat asked.

Before the older Jedi could reply Hera interrupted them as Kanan sat back down. "Commander Sato is going to need a full report on this." she said. "Well, we did get the medical supplies... some of them." the kid said as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"That's good news." she replied before adressing the others of the mission. "I'll meet you four on the command deck." she told them before the Mandalorian, Lasat and younger Jedi headed for the exit. "Kanan, they knew about Ahsoka." Ezra said as he stopped for a second before continueing after the others.

"I'll tell her." Anakin said after a moment of silence. The older Jedi nodded before the ex-merc headed towards the exit after the others.

Even as he moved through the docking tube, the teen was deep in thought at what had transpired. _'I almost killed an un-armed enemy today... I need to talk to my mom about this, maybe she can help...' _Anakin's thoughts trailed off as the sound of familiar mechanical breathing was heard echoing around him...

**Chapter 16 is done.**


	17. Wings of the Master

Ghost_, near Ibaar__:_

"_The Empire has doubled our work quotas and cut our rations. Without your food drop, the weakest among us will starve._" a man said weakly over the cockpit's holoprojector as they headed towards the planet Ibaar with two A-wings and corvette with them through hyperspace.

"Stay strong, my friend. We'll be there soon." Kanan assured him. "_You have our deepest gratitude, Phoenix Squadron._" the man replied as they all dropped out of hyperspace. "_Our underground network is standing by at the drop zone to distribute-_" the man's words were interrupted as his hologram started fading.

"The transmission is being jammed." Sabine said from where she worked on the cockpit's left side console while Chopper warbled. "Looks like the Empire came out to welcome us." Hera said as they saw three _Arquitens_-class command cruisers and three C-ROC _Gozanti_-class cruisers near the planet.

"_Attention, rebel convoy. This system is under Imperial control. Stand down or be destroyed._" Kallus' voice came over their comm a minute later. "What a surprise. Agent Kallus." Zeb said with a frown. "I'll give him this, he's persistent." the Twi'lek commented before addressing Phoenix Leader.

"Phoenix Leader, your pilots ready?" she asked him. "_As ready as we'll ever be, Captain Syndulla._" he replied as three more A-wings joined after detaching from the corvette while the Imperials sent six TIE fighters at them.

"Just handle those TIEs, Phoenix Leader." Hera ordered as the TIEs closed in. "_We'll cover you, _Ghost_. Start your run._" Phoenix Leader assured before the Twi'lek piloted the ship through the middle of the TIEs as they flew past while opening fire.

Anakin took Sabine's spot by the console to monitor the ship's systems while she took the co-pilot seat incase Hera needed help and the others left the cockpit to take their stations on the ship. "Zeb, bandit at 270!" Hera said over the ship's comm. "_I see him. Karabast!_" he exclaimed as a few red blasts passed by two TIEs.

"Ezra, coming in at point three." she said as a TIE came in for an attack run in front, fortunately it didn't get close enough before the kid destroyed it with the nose gun.

"Kanan, two marks at 185." she said before Anakin sensed another TIE pilot die. Unfortunately they were now getting close enough that the cruisers could now fire on them.

"_This is Transport 1. We're taking heavy fire!_" the captain of that transport exclaimed. "Stay on course, Transport 1." she ordered as the cruisers suddenly focused fire on the transport.

"_Losing forward deflectors!_" the captain exclaimed in fear as the teens and older woman watched the cruisers continue firing. "We're almost through!" she exclaimed as kept flying towards the Imperials.

"_We're not gonna make it! We're not gonna make it! Captain Syndulla!_" the transport captain exclaimed before the corvette suddenly exploded. "_We lost the transport._" Phoenix Leader said grimly as a solemn look appeared on Hera's face.

"All ships, abort! Abort!" she ordered after a moment of silence while pulling the ship around and heading back towards the direction they came. "_We have to get out of here!_" Phoenix Leader exclaimed before they heard his cry of horror and the ex-merc sensed his death.

"We lost Phoenix Leader. They're cutting us to pieces!" another A-wing pilot exclaimed. "Set heading 267. All ships, jump now!" she ordered before the blue vortex of hyperspace surrounded the ship.

* * *

_Shantipole:_

Anakin, Sabine and Zeb sat in the back of the _Phantom_ as Hera piloted it into the planet's atmosphere. "Well, I did a little research on why it's so hard to land here." she explained. "And?" Sabine and Zeb asked at the same time.

"The upper atmosphere is tricky." she replied. "Tricky how?" Anakin asked. "You can get through it, but your craft never seems to maintain its power." the Twi'lek replied. "Whoa. What does that mean? I don't know what that means." Zeb said, sounding worried.

"It means no power, no flying, just falling." the Mandalorian girl replied as the shuttle started to do just that. "Could've mentioned this before I got on board!" the Lasat exclaimed. "You wouldn't have come!" Hera replied.

Sabine let out a small 'Ow.' after the shuttle was hit by a small lightning bolt, making the ship shake and her to hit the side with her shoulder as Hera tried to keep them steady. As they exited the storm a few seconds later, Hera quickly pulled them into a turn and narrowly missed hitting a huge rock pillar.

"Wait. Was that a ship? That was a ship!" Zeb exclaimed after they passed said broken ship that was lodged into the side of one of the pillars. "That was your imagination." the Twi'lek replied before hitting a pillar with the shuttle's right wing.

"There! The landing field." she said as they noticed it not far from where they were falling. "Is that your imagination?" Zeb asked. "You better hope not. Brace for impact!" she replied.

A few seconds after her reply, the shuttle crashed onto the small landing strip and slid to the other end before stopping just as half the shuttle was hanging over the edge.

Zeb groaned in discomfort as he rubbed his neck. "Am I dead? I don't smell dead." he said before standing and taking a step towards Hera. Unfortunately his weight shuttle to tilt slightly more over the edge.

"Zeb! Zeb, get to the back of the ship!" Hera exclaimed as she stood an pushed towards the back a bit, fortunately that seemed to work as the shuttle soon started balancing itself back out with everyone in the back.

The momentum of the shuttle righting itself caused the door to opening and fling everyone outside. "That hurt." Anakin groaned before picking himself up and rubbing his sore face. _'Starting to wish I hadn't left my helmet behind...'_

"Who are you?" a voice asked before they turned their attention to a Mon Calamari looking at them. The four picked themselves up off the ground while an R-series droid was controlling a forklift that pulled the shuttle away from hanging over the side.

"You're Quarrie, right? Captain Rex sent us." the Twi'lek said before Quarrie smiled. "Ah. You're here about my ship." he replied. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one." she said while Sabine folded her arms.

"After a good landing, you can still fly the ship." the Mon Calamari said. "Yeah. You know this is a terrible place for ships." she pointed out. "But the perfect place to test them. If it can fly here, it can fly anywhere. And it's also the last place the Empire would look." he explained before gesturing for them to follow.

"Come. Let's get out of this wind." he added before they followed him to the large shed.

"Pardon the mess. I don't get many visitors. Most of 'em crash." he said while pushing the door open. "There she is. What do you think? I call it the Blade-wing." he said as they walked over to it.

"Uh That's a ship? Is it upside down?" Zeb asked, sounding confused. "Looks like it's been through a garbage masher." the Mandalorian girl said. "Oh, this is one of my most advanced designs. Fast, agile, a narrow attack profile. And it packs a punch. High intensity blasters, ion cannons, and proton torpedoes." Quarrie explained.

"Great. I can't wait to take it out. The fleet really needs this." Hera replied with a smile as she walked up to him. "The fleet, huh? What makes you think she's yours just for the taking?" he grumbled before walking past her and towards the exit.

* * *

"I can't believe that old carp isn't gonna let you fly his ship. You ask me, he's been out of the water too long." Zeb griped as Hera and the teens tried fixing the shuttle. "I can't fix the _Phantom_, not with the spare parts we have on board." the Twi'lek said as the teens exited the shuttle.

"And more good news. Our comm system's fried. We can't contact the Ghost." Sabine told them. "So we're stuck here. Perfect." Hera said dryly before Quarrie and his droid came over to them with some mechanical stuff.

"I noticed your aft stabilizer is cracked. What else you need?" he asked. "Power bus relay, a flux converter, some plasma conduit." she replied as the droid moved towards them. "BeeGee will get you sorted." the Mon Calamari said while gesturing to the droid before the Lasat and teens followed it.

* * *

The rebels and Quarrie watched as BeeGee pushed the Blade-wing towards the landing strip as Hera got ready to fly it.

"You're lucky to have her as your pilot." Zeb told the Mon Calamari as the Twi'lek started the ship up. "How many times have you flown it." Sabine asked, folding her arms as he turned to face them.

"Me? Oh, I don't fly. Too dangerous. But theoretically, it should fly." he replied with a smile as shocked looks crossed the Lasat and couple's faces. "Theoretically?" Zeb and Sabine asked in surprise. "That's reassuring." Anakin retorted sarcastically.

"Better to be down here wishing I was up there than up there crashing back down here." Quarrie replied before turning back around to face the ship. "If that ship crashes, I'll toss you over the side, and see how well you fly!" Zeb threatened as the teenage girl kept him from grabbing the Mon Calamari.

A few seconds later the Twi'lek gave them a thumbs up before moving the ship off the landing strip and taking off forward. The group watched as she only made it a few feet before losing altitude and falling.

"Hera!" Zeb exclaimed in horror as he and the teens quickly ran to the edge of the strip. After a moment of trying to find her below the clouds, the Blade-wing suddenly shot past them and into the sky before the three cheered for her.

Quarrie and the others went to the top floor of his home to watch her more easily right before she flew by. "Masterful." he said in awe.

"_I was kind of hoping your ship packed more of a punch, Quarrie._" Hera said over his house's comm. "Did you pull the big lever on the right?" he asked. "No." she replied. "Try again." he suggested before a red continuous laser beam came from the ship and destroyed the broken one Zeb had seen when they first came here.

After making another turn, Hera piloted the ship back to them before landing then exiting the ship just as the others walked over to her.

"Your ship certainly has the firepower we need, but the targeting system could use some work." the Twi'lek said to Quarrie. "I've got some ideas." Sabine said with a smirk. "No, no. That's my ship, young one. Just what do you think you're doing?" he questioned while stopping her from moving towards the ship as her smirk fell.

"Never get between a Mandalorian and a weapons package." she said with an even stare. "I do as she says. I've seen her in action and challenging her isn't a good idea." Anakin said to him before BeeGee rolled over and beeped.

"It's Kanan. He'll want to hear about our success." Hera said before handing Zeb her helmet and walking to the _Phantom_.

* * *

"We need to get moving. The second attack is about to commence." Hera addressed them after exiting the shuttle while the teens worked on the Blade-wing with Quarrie and Zeb's help.

"Well, we've got a problem. The energy drain from the multi-cannon firing system killed the hyperdrive." Sabine explained as she walked up to them. "In Basic, please?" Zeb asked with a small exasperated sigh.

"What she means is that the weapons work, but we've got no lightspeed." the ex-merc replied instead. "Well, that has been a problem." the Mon Calamari admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's been a problem? You- You mean you knew about this?" Hera snapped as she walked up to him. "What did you expect for a prototype? There are all sorts of adjustments that need to be made. For instance, I don't even like this paint job so much." the said while gesturing to the ship.

Zeb suddenly tossed the crate he holding onto the ground before picking Quarrie up. "Come here, fish face. I want to see if you can fly!" the Lasat growled. "Hang on. Hang on, Zeb. Easy." the Twi'lek said before he dropped the Mon Calamari onto another crate.

"There must be a way to solve this." Hera said. "It's a shame I had BeeGee install that other hyperdrive on the _Phantom_." he said before sitting up. "You what!?" Hera exclaimed in surprise.

"I don't like seeing a ship that can't fly. During the repairs, I upgraded it, because if you don't have a hyperdrive, you can't fly far." he admitted as he gestured towards the shuttle which BeeGee was now on top of.

"You beautiful, crazy Mon Calamari! That's the answer to our problem." she exclaimed in delight before wrapping him in a big hug. "You've officially lost me." Anakin said with an equally confused Zeb and Sabine beside him.

"What? What's the answer?" he asked, equally confused.

* * *

_Ibaar:_

"_I'm gonna swing around and try from another direction._" Kanan's voice came over the rebel's open comm after Zeb pulled the shuttle out of hyperspace. "_Stay on course,_ Ghost. _I'll knock that cruiser out of your way. Turn me loose,_ Phantom_._" Hera said over the comm. "Say hello to Kallus for me." Zeb said with a smirk.

"_Oh, we will. If there's anything left of him._" Sabine replied over the comm before the Lasat pressed a button that detached the Blade-wing from underneath the shuttle. "May the Force be with you." the ex-merc said to them as they flew towards the Imperial cruisers.

Everybody watched as the ship closed in on the cruisers before launching a red beam at the left cruiser. Seconds after it cut through the cruiser, sections of it started exploding before the whole was engulfed in a huge explosion. "So, maybe it's not such a hunk of junk after all." Zeb admitted with a small smile as Quarrie cheered.

Once the _Ghost _had made it to the planet, Zeb pulled the shuttle around and flew it towards the other ships. "_We have confirmation the drop was successful. Let's go home, Phoenix Squadron._" Sato said as Zeb attached the _Phantom _with the Blade-wing before they and the other rebel ships entered hyperspace.

* * *

_Phoenix Squadron,_ Ghost_:_

Anakin, Zeb, Quarrie, BeeGee and the two Jedi entered the docking port where Sabine, Sato and Hera were waiting with smiles on their faces. "It seems Senator Organa has found a ship works sympathetic to our cause, and willing to manufacture more of these B-wings in secret." Sato said as the other walked up to him and the girls.

"Project Shantipole will continue under my supervision, of course. There are many adjustments that need be made." he replied before continueing towards the corvette.

"Quarrie, thanks to you and your ship, we helped many people today." Hera said as he passed her before stopping and turning. "I just hammered it together, young pilot. You made it soar." he replied, mirroring her smile be he and BeeGee entered the corvette.

"Indeed. Your heroics are unparalleled, Captain Syndulla. That is why I agree with Kanan's recommendation." Sato said as he and Hera turned to face each other. "Your recommendation? What have you done now?" she asked Kanan while giving him a look. "Just listen to the Commander." he replied, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

"You are to be promoted to Phoenix Leader. Our fighter pilots will benefit greatly from your expertise." Sato said before he and the others, minus Kanan, saluted. "Good job, Captain Hera." he said before giving her a two finger salute. The Twi'lek smiled at her friends before returning the salute.

**Chapter 17 done.**


	18. Blood Sisters

_Garel:_

Anakin, Sabine, Ezra and Chopper moved down the _Ghost_'s ramp just as two other rebels turned away from Hera and started walking towards the hanger's exit. "You said you had another mission. What do you want me to do?" the kid asked.

"Actually, this one's for her." the Twi'lek replied while turning her attention to Sabine, said girl smirked and elbowed Ezra lightly as she moved past him. "There's a courier coming in who has secret information. I need you to pick him up and transport him to Havok outpost." the older woman explained.

"Sounds easy enough." the girl replied. "If it was easy, I'd send someone else. This information is important. We have to get it through. Keep a low profile." Hera addressed clearly.

"Don't worry. You can trust me. What's this courier look like?" the Mandalorian girl asked. "I don't know, but they'll respond to this code phrase." the Twi'lek answered before pressing a button on the datapad in her hand. A second later Sabine's wrist computer beeped before she raised her arm to see that the info was retrieved.

"Got it, come on Anakin." the girl called out after slipping her helmet on. "Hang on a sec." he replied before turning to Ezra. "I know what you're thinking, kid. And no, you're not coming with us. I haven't been on a mission with just her before and I'm not keen on a third wheel." he said before putting his own helmet on and turning around.

"But-" the Jedi started to protest before the ex-merc suddenly rounded on him. "I'm warning you, Ezra." he said darkly before turning around again. The teen could sense both girls were worried about his sudden aggression while Ezra was slightly terrified. Sabine gave him a concerned look while trailing a foot behind him, Chopper not far behind her.

"Are you alright?" she asked her boyfriend gently before he sighed. "I'm sorry... That incident on the medical station still haunts me a bit is all..." he trailed off as they kept walking.

The teenage girl walked up beside him before gently grabbing his hand and threading her finger through his mechanical ones. Even though he couldn't see it, the ex-merc knew she was giving him a soft smile.

After a few minutes of walking Sabine suddenly pulled her hand away as she stopped to look at a symbol spray painted on the wall to their right. The Mandalorian girl removed her helmet to get a better look. "What is it?" her boyfriend asked after he and the droid stopped moving.

"Nothing." she replied dismissively before putting her helmet back on and walking back over to them.

* * *

It was a few minutes later before the three of them found themselves in Hanger 22. A shuttle had just landed and its passengers were disembarking from the ship. Anakin did a quick look around and noticed there were lots of different species yet barely any Imperials.

"So how do we find the courier?" he asked his girlfriend. "The code phrase is, 'It's a long way to Alderaan.'" she replied.

"Maybe this guy?" he suggested while gesturing to a Rodian walking in their direction. "It's a long way to Alderaan." he said to the guy. "Uh, okay..." the man trailed off, clearly weirded out. "That was embarrassing." he mumbled.

Hours passed by as the two continued saying the phrase to different people only to either end up with strange looks directed at them or flat out being ignored. "_Hanger 22 is now closed._" a voice announced over the hanger's speakers before repeating it in different languages.

Feeling his legs wobble a bit from having been on his feet for hours, the ex-merc found a few crates near a shuttle before hopping up onto a tall one to sit down. "It's gonna be a long way back to the _Ghost_ if we miss the courier." he said, stretching a bit.

"We couldn't have. Hera had confirmation he boarded the shuttle." she informed him. "Wait. It's a guy? Why didn't you say that earlier, could've saved some time by leaving the women alone." he said. "Are you sure you were saying the code phrase right?" she asked while looking at him over her shoulder.

"Yes, it's a long way to Alderaan." he replied before the crate he was sitting on started moving and warbling. "Whoa! What's up with his thing?" he asked in surprise before jumping off the droid as Sabine turned toward them.

"Wait a minute. That is the courier." she realized before walking over to them as it warbled again. "Talk about a low profile. He came in with the cargo payload. He's unit EG-86." she said while dropping to one knee in front of it. "Nice to meet you... EeeGee." the ex-merc greeted awkwardly.

"I don't get why they'd hide such important information in this binary box brain." he commented. "Well, would you suspect that thing of being a spy full of secrets?" she asked as he took another look at it before turning his attention back to her. "Probably not, no." he replied.

"That's too bad..." a voice said from above. The couple turned their head towards the direction of the voice just in time to see a woman jump off the shuttle beside them and land beside the stepladder leading into said shuttle. "Because I would." the girl said.

"Ketsu Onyo. I saw your mark, old friend." Sabine spat, her tone venomous. Anakin was a bit surprised by her tone. _'Never heard or sensed her this angry before.' _

"Friend? That's a generous term considering what happened." Onyo said as she and Sabine suddenly took defensive stances before circling each other. "I know this is probably a dumb question, but do you two know each other?" the ex-merc asked.

"Something like that. Still a bounty hunter, I see." she replied to her boyfriend before addressing Onyo. "Tell me you don't miss it." the other girl shot back. "You were a bounty hunter? That would explain a lot." Anakin commented.

"I don't think Ketsu's here for a reunion." Sabine stated as she and the other girl stopped circling each other. "You know me well. I'm just here for the droid." the other Mandalorian replied before Chopper warbled.

"Pretty sure she means him, Chop. Not you." the ex-merc said while gesturing to the gonk droid. "So... how do you know her?" he asked his girlfriend. "She never told you how we broke out of the Imperial Academy?" Onyo asked.

"That was a long time ago. Before you got greedy and left me for dead." the other girl spat as Onyo chuckled coldly. "You'd have been better off dead than joining this band of rebels. I didn't believe it until I saw the Empire put a bounty on you." the bounty hunter replied.

"You gonna try to collect on it?" Sabine asked as her tone became more serious and hostile. "Haven't decided yet. Besides, I work for the Black Sun now, and I have another job to finish first." Onyo replied.

"I can't let you do that." Sabine said before she and Onyo started slowly reaching for their blasters. Anakin looked between them as the tension in the air thickened from their little standoff.

"Easy, girls. Let's not do anything-" he started to say slowly before being cut off by a stormtrooper.

"You there. Citizens, what's going on here? There's a curfew on this hangar. You need to leave immediately." the trooper with a white pauldron ordered as he and four others walked over to them.

"Don't interrupt us!" Onyo snapped before pulling out one of her blasters and shooting two of them. Anakin, Sabine and the droids quickly took cover behind the crates the droids had been in front of a moment ago while Onyo took cover behind a longer crate near Sabine.

Popping out over top of the crate, the ex-merc's girlfriend fired off a shot from one of her blasters that hit one of the troopers in the chest. "Nice shot. Haven't lost your touch." the bounty hunter surprisingly complimented before popping out of her own cover and shooting one herself.

"Good thing you haven't either." the other Mandalorian replied. "Okay, you two need to figure out this whole friend/enemy thing." Anakin said before blasting the remaining trooper with his DC-15A.

Unfortunately the Empire wasn't done as they noticed another squad of stormtroopers running towards them. "New plan. Chopper get this guy onto the shuttle." the ex-merc ordered while gesturing to the shuttle with a nod.

Chopper warbled before Anakin went back to shooting at the troopers to give them cover fire. A moment later he looked up to see the gonk droid at the top of the ramp before addressing his girlfriend. "Sabine, go! I'll cover you." he said.

The girl nodded before towards the ramp and quickly climbing up. Once she was in, the ex-merc followed her while dodging blasts as he climbed up the ramp. "Hang on." Sabine warned a few seconds later before the ship started to take off into the air.

Anakin kept firing down at the troops as they got further away before one bolt suddenly hit the shuttle beside his head. Luckily the ex-merc wasn't taken off-guard by almost getting shot in the head and quickly retaliated just before the shuttle door automatically closed. "Bastards." he mumbled.

* * *

_Space, near Garel:_

"Well... that was fun." Anakin said, breaking the silence as Sabine piloted the ship away from the planet. "Yeah, we were lucky to escape so easily." she replied. If he currently wasn't wearing his helmet, the ex-merc would've face palmed at her words.

"Sabine, you just jinxed us with those words." he groaned. Before she could reply a beeping sound suddenly came from the console as Chopper warbled. "Scanning a ship? Oh, no." she muttered just as her boyfriend sensed Onyo approaching from behind.

A few seconds later the ship suddenly shook a bit before slowing down. "Yep, that's Ketsu, all right." Sabine said. "Are the engines alright?" her boyfriend asked before she turned her head a bit to give him a nod.

"They're fine, but she knocked out our hyperdrive, which means I bet I know her next move." she replied before addressing the droids. "Lock yourselves down." she ordered as the ex-merc sat in the chair opposite of hers.

"Too late!" she exclaimed a few seconds later after the door was blasted off. Just as the couple held onto their respective chairs for dear life the gonk droid was almost immediately pulled towards the door. Fortunately the droid ended up on it's side and therefore got stuck in front of the door.

"Shit!" Anakin cursed as the vacuum of space won their little tug-o-war and he was pulled towards the door, luckily he hit the gonk droid instead of getting sucked out. The teen had no time to sigh in relief as he instead let out an 'Oof' a second later after his girlfriend crashed into him.

"Chopper!" the couple exclaimed in horror as said droid was sucked out through the opening above their heads.

"Anakin! The hatch!" she yelled over the sound. The ex-merc looked to his right to see a panel by the door before reaching out with his right hand to press the button that would seal the door.

Anakin's struggled to press the button while simultaneously trying to keep from dislodging himself. "Come on! Come on!" he growled to himself through gritted teeth. Fed up with struggling for so long he opted to dislodge himself before quickly pressing the button.

Both teens let out an 'Oof' after hitting the ground. The male groaned slightly as he stood up before dusting himself off. "I'm getting too big for this." he complained before helping his girlfriend stand.

"Next time I steal a ship, it'll be one with guns." she said, taking her helmet off and walking back to her seat as the ex-merc helped the droid stand.

After she maneuvered her ship to face the shuttle, Onyo tried contacting them. Sabine looked at the console before pressing a button and watching a hologram of her former friend appear.

"_No hard feelings, Sabine. It's not personal, just business. And speaking of business, here's the deal... Toss out the power droid, and I'll let you live._" the other woman said as Sabine crossed her arms.

"And if I refuse." she asked. "_I'll blow up the shuttle and scoop my bounty from the debris._" the bounty hunter threatened as Anakin stepped up behind his girlfriend. A moment after Onyo's threat the couple noticed Chopper landing on top of her ship.

"I don't believe it." Sabine muttered in surprise. "_You better believe it. I'll do whatever it takes to complete my mission._" the bounty hunter said, thinking Sabine was talking to her.

"No, I, I don't believe you can do it." she taunted with a smirk, trying to stall her former friend so Chopper could disable the turret. "_Maybe that's true, but I've changed more than you realize. I have new loyalties now._" Onyo said.

"Right. Finally part of Black Sun." the ex-merc's girlfriend replied with a small glare. "_Just like we always dreamed. I got the best weapons, best ship, and I'm feared across the galaxy._" the bounty hunter said.

"Ugh. I can't believe I wanted that. The Black Sun are slavers and assassins who don't care about anything but body counts and quotas. They'd kill you too, for a profit." Sabine replied.

"_Speaking of which, your time is up. Now hand over the droid._" Onyo demanded as Eeegee warbled in fear.

"You can't do it." Anakin's girlfriend taunted with a smirk. "_I really wish it hadn't come to this, old friend._" the bounty hunter replied with a hint of regret in her tone. A few seconds later they saw Chopper taunt the bounty hunter before Sabine started moving the shuttle forward.

"So long, old friend." she mocked while flying the shuttle over Onyo's.

Once they put some distance between them and the bounty hunter, Eeegee made it's way to the cargo hold before Sabine opened the cargo bay door for Chopper. "I'll hold her steady. Just get him inside." she said over the shuttle's comm.

A few seconds later Eeegee entered the main part of the shuttle while warbling frantically. "Where's Chopper? Calm down. What are you saying?" she asked with a frown before the droid warbled more slowly.

"What did he say?" the ex-merc asked her. "Chopper's been taken." she replied. "Shit." he cursed as she opened a channel with Onyo ship.

"All right, Ketsu. Let's make a trade." she said while flying the shuttle over to bounty hunter's ship. "I'll extend the docking ramp and get your little friend ready." Onyo replied. Once both ships were parallel of each other, Sabine pressed a few button on the console before she and her boyfriend walked over to the door.

"Stay here." the girl ordered Eeegee after opening the docking tube door. As the couple walked towards the other side, Anakin took his green saber out of its pouch before clipping it onto the back of his belt. _'Hopefully I won't have to use it.'_

"Well, well. While I've changed, it seems you haven't changed at all." Onyo commented after the door opened and she and Chopper met them halfway. "You're not giving up the courier, are you?" she asked after looking past the couple.

"Nope. You're going to have to take him." Sabine challenged. "And this astromech... Not very smart, sticking your neck out for it." the bounty hunter replied, gesturing to the droid behind her before crossing her arms.

"Chopper's more than a droid. He's a rebel and a friend." the ex-merc's girlfriend said. "Oh, Sabine..." she trailed off with a sigh before removing her helmet.

"We were once friends. Tell you what. Give me the power droid, and I'll share my cut with you. Like the old days." she said while attempting to move past them. Onyo didn't get far as Anakin slammed his hand against the wall on his left to cut her off.

"Don't even think about it." he snarled. Clearly intimidated by not just his tone but also his height, the bounty hunter took a few steps back. "Who's this? Your boyfriend?" she asked her former friend while crossing her arms.

"Actually yes, he also happens to be Revan's descendant." Sabine replied, crossing her arms too as Anakin wrapped his mechanical arm around her waist.

"Plus I don't do things for just money anymore." she added. "That's right. Now there's 'the cause'. You really think your little rebel group can overthrow the Empire. Grow up, little sister. You can't be that foolish." Onyo chastised.

"Once we were like sisters. But... We only cared about ourselves." Sabine replied, regret in her tone. "It's called survival. You, of all people, should know you can't trust anyone." the bounty hunter said.

"I forgive you." the ex-merc's girlfriend said after a moment of silence. "For what?" Onyo asked. "For leaving me for dead. And I still trust you." replied simply. "And you're wrong." the bounty hunter said coldly.

"I met people who gave me a second chance in life, and that's what I'm giving you." Sabine replied sincerity in her tone.

Before Onyo could reply an Imperial officer's voice was heard over the shuttle's comm. "_Imperial cruiser to Garel shuttle 63725. Your craft as been identified as stolen. Prepare to be boarded._" the officer informed them.

"Looks like we're friends again." Sabine said with a smirk. "Don't have much of a choice." Ketsu replied, mirroring her smirk before Anakin threw his hands up. "I will _never _understand girls." he said before making his way back towards the shuttle.

"_Hold position for docking. Hold position for docking. Attempt to flee, and you will be fired upon._" the officer warned after the couple sat in the same chairs as earlier and Ketsu stood in-between them.

"Thanks to your little rust bucket, I've got no firepower. And as long as we're docked to this shuttle, we can't use the _Shadow Caster_'s hyperdrive to escape." the bounty hunter said to her friend who was currently deep in thought.

"Chop, overload the hyperdrive on the shuttle." she ordered the droid before he rolled over to the droid port and plugged in. "What are you doing?" Ketsu asked as Chopper warbled. "Buying us time." the Anakin's girlfriend replied with a smirk before pressing a button on the console to contact them.

"Attention, Imperial vessel. Please be aware, our ships have suffered extensive damage... And are in danger of self-destruction." she told them. "_Shuttle craft, you have two minutes to stabilize. Then we will be coming aboard._" the officer replied a few seconds later.

"What can you do in two minutes?" the bounty hunter asked as Sabine stood up and walked over to Chopper. "Watch." she said to her friend before addressing Chopper. "Chopper, purge the reactor, then get over to the Shadow Caster and prepare to disengage the docking tube on my signal." she ordered.

"You're going to blow up the shuttle?" the bounty hunter questioned with a frown. "Which will get us the time we need to make our escape." the ex-merc's girlfriend replied. "I should have known. You always liked to make things go boom." Ketsu said with a smile.

"Something I learned from you. Still got the armory of explosives you used to carry?" she asked. "On my ship." her friend replied before they ran over to her ship. Once they were onboard she immediately pushed a large crate over to them before sliding the lid off to reveal a bunch of proximity bombs.

"That's a lot of explosives." Anakin commented. "Only friends I've ever needed." she said before handing two to Sabine. "Until today. Anakin and I will plant them on the shuttle to give the reactor an extra kick." she explained as the bounty hunter handed her two more and Anakin grabbed four himself.

"That's the Sabine I remember." her friend said with smile. "Now you get sentimental. Just get the _Shadow Caster _ready to fly. Come on, Anakin." the ex-merc's girlfriend said before the two made their way through the docking tube.

Once back inside the shuttle the couple started to plant their explosives on opposite sides of the console before they heard the officer's voice again. "_Imperial cruiser to shuttle. We are reading a power surge on your vessel. Your reactor core is unstable. Contain the problem immediately._" he ordered.

"It is looking pretty bad over here. I'd keep my distance if I were you." Sabine replied as she and her boyfriend finished placing their explosives. "_Whichever one of you thieves is in charge, identify yourself._" the officer ordered.

"You should probably talk to the captain." she replied while trying to reactivate the droid. "Hey, Captain. Wake up!" she said before managing to reactivate him. "Not take no for an answer!" the droid said before she grabbed it's head and turned it to face her.

"Your ship is under attack. You need to exercise emergency protocol." she said. "Under attack?" it asked, sounding confused. "See that Imperial cruiser out there? It's getting ready to destroy your shuttle for being stolen." she replied while pointing to the approaching Imperial light cruiser.

"Destroy my ship?" the droid panicked as it looked at the cruiser. "Time to go." Sabine said after standing up.

* * *

Anakin reached Ketsu's ship right as Ketsu entered the cargo hold. Both barely managed to keep from falling down as the cruiser opened fire on the shuttle. "Droid, release the docking tube, or we're all going to die." she barked to Chopper after jumping down the ladder.

Both Chopper and Eeegee warbled something to her. "What did they say?" Anakin asked her. "That Sabine is still on the shuttle." she replied before they both looked towards the shuttle to see his girlfriend lying on the ground unconscious. The ex-merc felt his heart skip a beat from fear before hopping over the droid and sprinting towards the shuttle.

"I got you, Angel." he said softly to his unconscious girlfriend while scooping her up into his arms. The Mandalorian girl started to regain consciousness as her boyfriend jogged through the docking tube.

Once they reached Ketsu's ship he set her down gently before addressing Chopper. "Get us out of here, Chop." he ordered before the droid warbled and plugged into the droid port beside the door.

A few seconds after making their way up the ladder and into the cockpit, the teens could feel the ship moving away from the direction they were supposed to be going. "It's too late. They've got us." Ketsu said. "Not for long." her friend replied with a smirk.

Once they were free of the tractor beam, the bounty hunter quickly got into the pilot chair before activating the hyperdrive.

"You okay?" the ex-merc asked his girlfriend as the ship moved through hyperspace. "I'm fine. Thank you" she assured with a smile before taking his helmet off and giving him a soft kiss.

* * *

_Unidentified planet, Havok Outpost:_

Once Ketsu landed the ship on the landing strip, she and the other made their way down the ramp and were instantly greeted by Artoo and two rebel soldiers. While the bounty hunter stayed with her ship, the couple and droids walked over to their allies.

Anakin smiled as Artoo rolled up to them and exchanged beeps with Eeegee. "You can report to Senator Organa that his intel has arrived safe and sound." Sabine said to the droid with a smile.

Chopper and Artoo then warbled and beeped someting to each other as Eeegee moved past them before the C1 droid waved one of his hands dismissively to the blue and white droid.

The ex-merc just shook his head at the orange droid before he, Sabine and said droid made their way back over to Ketsu. "Let's get you home." she said to the other teens before they walked into the ship

* * *

_Garel:_

After landing, the rebels and bounty hunter made their over to Hera. "Congratulations on a successful mission." she said to her friends with a smile before addressing Ketsu. "Thank you for helping our cause." the Twi'lek thanked.

"Well, it was mostly an accident. I'm not sure I'm ready for a full-on fight with the Empire just yet." the bounty hunter replied. "No one ever is." Hera said before giving her a nod then turning to head back to the ship.

"Could I have a moment with Ketsu?" Sabine asked her boyfriend a few seconds after Hera left. "Sure. I'll be over by the ship." he replied before heading in that direction. Once Ketsu made her way back towards her ship, the ex-merc walked back over to his girlfriend before they watched her start taking off.

"Think that's the last we've seen of her?" he asked. "No, and I'm glad." she replied with a smile as her friend's ship blasted off into space.

**Finally updated. Sorry it took so long, I got sidetracked for a long time.**


	19. Legacy

_Garel:_

"I didn't do it!" Anakin exclaimed sleepily as he shot up from his bed. The ex-merc groaned in frustration after looking around for a few seconds before realizing it was the noises from Ezra and Zeb's room that had woken him up.

"I'm gonna murder that kid." he mumbled while sliding out of bed and ignoring the amused smirk on his girlfriend's face. After stretching Anakin and Sabine exited their room to see Hera standing in the hallway and Ezra frantically looking around his room for something.

"Where's my helmet? I... I need my helmet." the kid said out loud as he kept looking around the room. "We want you to find your parents, Ezra, but even if you're right, you can't go now. We need a plan. The entire Imperial sector fleet has the planet in a blockade." Hera explained.

"Um, not anymore. Been listening in on Imperial chatter." Sabine said, getting both Ezra and Hera's attention. "Wait. What's up on Lothal?" the young Jedi asked. "The Empire's fleet left Lothal's orbit this morning." the Mandalorian replied.

"Left Lothal? Where to?" the Twi'lek asked. "Doesn't matter, okay? This is a sign. I'm supposed to go. Where's my stupid helmet?" the younger teen said, frustration in his tone before kicking the locker he was just searching.

"I know you have to go, but that doesn't mean you have to go alone." Kanan said after entering the hallway with Ezra's cadet helmet in his hands. "We support you. We're family." Hera said with a smile after the older Jedi handed the helmet to his apprentice.

"Speaking of family. Where are the delinquents?" Anakin's girlfriend wondered.

* * *

The group made their way to the cockpit before Hera contacted Zeb on his comm and briefed him and Chopper. "_Back to Lothal? Well, that sounds like a terrible idea. Besides, we haven't finished getting our supplies._" the Lasat said.

"You can finish later." she replied before Ezra walked up beside her. "Just get back here now." he snapped impatiently before Hera gestured for him to step back. "Not too fast, Zeb. We don't want to alert any Imperial patrols." she said to Zeb.

"_Don't worry. Not a bucket head in sight. In fact, we haven't seen one all morning. Kind of strange, actually._" he replied. "It's not strange. It's strategy." the ex-merc's girlfriend said before standing. "What are you talking about?" the younger Jedi asked impatiently.

"The Empire always pulls back patrols before a major strike." she informed them before the console started beeping. "Oh, no." the Twi'lek muttered worriedly as she and the others looked outside to see three Star Destroyers above them.

"Well, Ezra, if you want to go back to Lothal, now would be the time." Hera said before they all ran outside to get a better look.

"Zeb, get back to the ship. I'll contact Commander Sato. Hurry." she ordered urgently over her comm before it crackled then died out.

"Sabine, Anakin, see if you can splice their jamming signal. We'll need our comm." she ordered the couple. "On it." Sabine replied before she and her boyfriend ran back up the ship's ramp.

* * *

"Guys, where's my comm?" Hera asked the couple after running into the cockpit while the two teens kept trying to splice into the Imperial's jamming system. "Almost got it." Sabine replied. Anakin pressed a few more buttons before they heard a voice over the comm.

"_Hangar 16 has fallen. Phoenix Squadron, report!_" Sato ordered. "_Ghost _to _Liberator_. Give me some good news." the Twi'lek replied. "_We read you, Hera. If the fleet's gonna launch, it's gotta be now._" Rex informed her as Anakin let out a sigh of relief at knowing his godfather was safe.

"_We are employing escape plan delta, Captain Syndulla. Are you ready?_" Sato asked her. Roughly ten seconds passed before the three saw their friends enter the hanger with a group of stormtroopers on them.

"They're back." Sabine said as she sat in the co-pilot chair. "Let's go." Hera said as she started up the ship. "_We're all in._" Kanan informed them over the ship's comm before the Twi'lek piloted the ship out of the hanger.

"This is Phoenix Leader. All ships, angle deflector shield and follow my lead." she ordered after taking off towards the atmosphere. "_Copy that, Captain Syndulla._" a rebel replied before they started to pass underneath one of the destroyers.

"Zeb, get on the guns." Hera ordered. "On my way." he replied while climbing up the ladder that led to the roof gun.

Only a few seconds after he manned the turret they noticed squadron of TIE fighters heading straight towards them. "Zeb, we got incoming." Anakin warned. "_I see them!_" he replied before opening fire on the Imperials.

Roughly a minute or two passed before Anakin sensed the deaths of a group of rebels. A few more seconds passed by before they heard Rex's voice over the comm. "_They've slinged us in a tractor beam._" he warned. "Kanan, I'm going back for Sato and Rex. You've got your opening. Take it." Hera told him over the ship's comm.

"_We're not leaving until the fleet is safe._" Ezra protested. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I gave you an order. Now get moving. And, Ezra, I hope you find what you're looking for." she replied before disconnecting and turning around.

"_This is not escaping. This is attacking._" Zeb realized as they neared the Destroyer. "I'm open to suggestions." the Twi'lek replied. "I've got an idea. But it means getting close to that Star Destroyer. We can use the torpedoes to take out the tractor beam." the ex-merc's girlfriend suggested.

"_Wait, can we do that?_" Zeb asked, sounding skeptical. "We're gonna find out." Hera replied. "_Oh, boy._" the Lasat said sounding worried as they neared the back of the Destroyer.

"Commander Sato, we're going to break you free from the tractor beam." she informed him and his crew. "_Phoenix Leader, I gave you a direct order to retreat._" he replied. "Just be ready to hit your thrusters." she said as they flew underneath the Destroyer and towards the tractor beam dish while a squad of TIEs chased them.

"Almost got it. Almost got." the Mandalorian said quietly as she locked on torpedos. A few seconds passed before the ship was rocked by laser fire and warning sound was heard. "Don't got it! Don't got it!" she warned as a few sparks shot out of the upper part of the console behind her.

"I'll get it." the Twi'lek said as Anakin worked on fixing the console. "_What are you doing? What are you doing?_" Zeb asked in surprise as Hera piloted the ship towards the dish before abruptly making a hard right and hitting it with the side of the ship.

"Did we get it?" she asked the Lasat before hearing him sigh in relief. "_We got it._" he replied, his voice sounding somewhat shaky. "So, are we rendezvousing with the fleet or heading to Lothal?" Anakin's girlfriend asked Hera.

"We stay with the fleet." she replied before leaving the atmosphere and jumping to hyperspace.

**Hmm. Was hoping to end it on a more positive note but oh well, this should be at least satisfactory I hope.**


	20. A Princess on Lothal

**I decided to do something fun with this one.**

* * *

_Lothal:_

Anakin raised his head from looking at the lightsaber he was tinkering on as he sensed someone... _'I sense something... A presence I've not felt since...' _the ex-merc's eyes widened upon realizing who it was. _'Leia!'_

The ex-merc entered the cockpit in time to see Hera open fire on the group of stormtroopers surrounding their friends. After destroying the two transports, the Twi'lek landed the ship before the couple and Lasat made their way to the cargo hold and opened fire on the Imperials the second the ramp lowered.

"No, you can't come on board! You have to go get the Phantom. Get moving!" Sabine ordered the droid as he warbled before he used his rocket to fly over to the shuttle. After roughly 30 seconds of shooting the two older teens noticed Ezra make a gesture.

"We got two incoming." the Mandalorian girl said. "What about Ezra and Kanan?" Zeb asked as he narrowly avoided a bolt. "They're the troopers on the left." she replied before watching an older man push Kanan who then collided into Ezra, causing both to fall down.

The man then grabbed Leia by the wrist before running towards the ship. "Help! Help! Commander!" she pretended to cry for help as the two Jedi stood back up. "Hold your fire! She's my responsibility! I'll get her back!" Kanan yelled to the stormtroopers who were about to shoot the older man.

"Kanan's coming. He said to make it look good." the man said to the Lasat before he and Leia ran up the ramp. Zeb smirked just as Kanan reached them. "No, Zeb, wait! Easy!" the older Jedi protested as Zeb hit him in the head with the butt of his rifle twice, promptly knocking him out with ease.

"That's Kanan!" Ezra exclaimed before the Lasat knocked him down with swing of his rifle. "I know." Zeb chuckled as he holstered his weapon before grabbing both by the collar and dragging them up the ramp as the older teens provided suppressing fire.

A few seconds later Hera closed the ramp before the conscious members of the group in the cargo hold felt the ship taking off.

* * *

"We heard what happened. Sorry, kid." Zeb comforted the younger Jedi. "Hey, at least now you know." Sabine said gently as she placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Yeah. I guess I just need some time." he replied before turning around to head to the cockpit while the others minus Kanan and Anakin, followed Hera and Ryder to the common room.

"Is he alright?" Leia asked Kanan in concern while referring to Ezra. "He's okay. He just lost some people close to him." the Jedi replied. "It's a challenge being his age with so much responsibility." he said after a brief pause.

"I know that feeling." she replied. "Maybe he could use a friend." the older man suggested, placing a hand on her shoulder for a moment before turning to head to the common room.

Anakin opened and closed his mouth a few times as he struggled to say something to ex-girlfriend before sighing in defeat and turning around. "Anakin, wait." she stopped him before placing a hand on his shoulder.

The ex-merc released another sigh before turning around to face her while removing his helmet. As he opened his mouth to speak, the brunette held her hand up to stop him. "I'm not gonna suggest we get back together if that's what you're thinking, it was a mutual break up after all." she said with a small smile before he sighed in relief.

"Good. I mean if me and Sabine, the girl with the colorful hair, weren't currently together. I probably would've kissed you already." he teased with a smile.

"And I probably wouldn't be against that." she teased back before smiling. "Anyway, I wish you happiness." she said after short pause before turning around. Just as he was about to slip his helmet back on, Leia suddenly took him by surprise as she jumped into his arms before planting a kiss on the surprised ex-merc's lips.

The Alderaanian princess broke the kiss as quickly as she initiated it before leaving him with one last teasing as she made her way into the cockpit.

As the teen slowly licked his lips after snapping out his stupor, he only had one thought running through his head. _'Sabine's gonna kill me if she finds out about this.'_

* * *

"We did a scan of the landing field, and looking at the Imperial security, I just don't see us living long enough to get near those ships." Sabine pointed out while the group looked at the hologram, Ezra and Leia entering the room a few seconds later.

"Two walkers are a big problem." Zeb said with a frown before Kanan released a frustrated sigh. "Even if we reach the ships, they're not going anywhere until we can disable those gravity locks." he said grimly, gesturing to the three ships before Leia walked up the table and leaned against it with her hands.

"Those defenses are formidable. Why? Because the Empire doesn't underestimate you. They know how good you are." she spoke up. "We might be able to get one out, but we'll never get all three. It's impossible." he replied dismissively before looking at Hera who shook her head agreement.

"I know you need those ships, so don't tell me why we can't get them. Tell me how we will." the princess told them as Anakin smiled. _'Still as passionate as ever.'_

"Well, Kanan and I still have our disguises, so we can get onto the platform. But to get close to the ships, we'll need a distraction." the younger Jedi said as he stepped up beside Leia. " I can handle that." she said while crossing her arms.

"The _Ghost _can act as air support." the Twi'lek suggested. "And I can use detonators to blast off the gravity locks." the Mandalorian girl replied with a smile while holding one in her hand.

"Won't work. You can't forcibly remove the locks." Ryder spoke up. "You know this how?" Hera inquired. "n prison I put those locks together, so I know how to take 'em apart." he replied.

"Ryder Azadi, does that mean you're getting involved?" Kanan asked with a smirk and raised brow. "Just this once. It's clear I can't stay on Lothal, so I'll help you, if you get me outta here." he replied.

* * *

_Lothal, later that night:_

As Leia, and the two Jedi kept the Imperials distracted, Ryder, Chopper and the two older teens quietly made their way over to the first gravity lock. "We need to cut open that access panel, and bypass the primary power flux coupling." he explained, keeping his voice low before Chopper plugged into the droid port.

As he did that Sabine noticed her boyfriend had become distracted by the ship they were currently trying to free. "Hey. What is it?" she asked quietly, trying to get his attention.

"Hmm? Oh! It's just... There's something about this ship thats... familiar somehow I think..." he replied, sounding unsure before lowering his antenna and moving towards Ryder.

The teen looked up at the large writing on the ship and noticed it was Ancient Basic. "E-N-D-A-R S-P-I-R-E." he slowly spelled out. "_Endar Spire_..." he whispered before the gravity lock released the ship.

"He did it! You two take this one. We'll move onto the next one." Ryder said. "Anakin, we need to call in the air support." his girlfriend said, reminding him of the mission as Ryder and Chopper moved towards the second gravity lock.

"Oh, right! Sorry." he apologized before the two made their way into the ship. Once in the cockpit, the Mandalorian girl removed her helmet before starting the ship up.

A few seconds passed before the couple noticed the Imperials shooting at Ryder and Chopper. Quickly grabbing the co-pilot controls Anakin then used them to turn the ship's right-side turret towards the Imperials before opening fire near them.

The ex-merc only managed to get a few shots before the ship shook from taking cannon fire from one of the AT-ATs. Luckily a few seconds later they were saved by Hera who managed to severely damage the one shooting at the teens.

Once they were in the clear, the ex-merc's girlfriend piloted the ship towards the atmosphere as he let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

_Space, Phoenix Squadron:_

The couple, Zeb, Kanan and Hera all sat at the holo-table in the common room a few minutes before Ezra and Ryder joined them. "So, Governor, we need to find a safe place for you." the Twi'lek spoke as the latter two walked up to the table.

"I already know where I'm going, back home." he replied. "I knew you'd come around." Kanan said with a smirk.

"I couldn't see it before, but going to prison with the Bridgers started something. That something has grown bigger than I ever imagined. I owe it to them and I owe it to you to see it through to the end." he said before everyone sitting down stood and walked up to him.

"Welcome back to the fight, Governor." Ezra said with a smile.

**Chapter 20 done.**


	21. The Protector of Concord Dawn

**I'm starting to loathe Sabine centric episodes, all that writing is killer on the hands.**

* * *

_Space, Phoenix Squadron:_

"We got the supplies, but we were fortunate to get away. The Empire's making our travels around the Outer Rim tougher all the time." Kanan said as he, Ezra and Zeb walked into the _Liberator_'s command room.

"Yes. We need a new hyperspace route in and out of the Lothal sector." Sato said. "I may have a perfect shortcut. The system of Concord Dawn. It's a Mandalorian colony and not an Imperial territory yet." Sabine spoke up as she changed the table hologram to that of said planet.

"Why not? They've grabbed up just about every other place." Ezra said. "Concord Dawn is known for its elite warriors. They were brought in to train clones back in the war. Bet even the Empire thinks twice about a fight with them." Rex spoke up.

"The question is, who are they loyal to? The Empire does occupy their home world of Mandalore, so Imperial influence could be a factor." Sato replied.

"Years before the Clone Wars broke out, the Mandalorians were already at war with each other. This group call themselves the Protectors. They like to make up their own rules." the ex-merc's girlfriend explained.

"So we go in with strength, scout the system for defenses to see what we're up against." Sato said. "Or why not try diplomacy? Ask permission to use their system as a shortcut." Kanan suggested before Ahsoka's son scoffed.

"Most Mandalorians only understand strength." the teen said while crossing his arms. "He's right." his girlfriend spoke in agreement.

"But we shouldn't make an enemy if we don't need to. If we get permission to fly through their space, the next step could be recruitment. To grow the rebellion, we need friends like these Mandalorians. We could have our route and a powerful ally as well." Hera explained.

Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose at her naivety. "Very well, Captain Syndulla. The mission is yours." Sato replied. "Okay if I tag along?" Sabine asked the Twi'lek. "was hoping you'd ask." she replied before they made their way to the door.

Sabine stopped when she noticed her boyfriend wasn't following, not like he usually did. "You're not coming?" she asked, a bit surprised he wasn't following.

"Not this time. I'd rather not risk them finding out my heritage, since according to my dad, both of us share Revan's face." he replied before she gave an understanding nod then continued after Hera.

"Looks like diplomacy won the day for once." the younger Jedi commented as Kanan turned to face him. "There was a time when it always won the day." he replied.

* * *

_'I knew it. I knew something like this was going to happen.' _the ex-merc thought. Roughly and hour and a half later the _Liberator _picked up a distress call before they saw his girlfriend exit hyperspace.

"Sabine, what happened? We picked up a distress call. Where's Hera?" Kanan asked over the ship's comm as they saw her .

"_She was right behind me. Kanan, we didn't have a chance. These Mandalorians work for the Empire, too._" she replied, her tone sounding distressed before they all saw Hera's badly damaged A-wing drop out of hyperspace near Sabine's.

"Hera. Hera, can you hear me?" the older Jedi asked urgently only to get silence in return. "_I see her. I see her, Kanan. It's bad. You've got to hurry. Please hurry!_" the Mandalorian girl pleaded.

* * *

Anakin kept his mechanical arm wrapped around his girlfriend's shoulders comfortingly as both of them along with Zeb and Ezra waited outside the command ship's medbay. Once they heard the humming of the med-droid scanning her stop, Sabine moved out of her boyfriend's hold before rushing inside.

"How is she?" the younger woman asked the droid. "Her vital signs have stabilized. She is going to make it. But she requires rest." the droid replied. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have left her." the Mandalorian said sadly.

"There's nothing you could have done. I'm just glad you're both back in one piece. Commander Sato wants the details on what happened." Kanan said. "Yeah, I'll be right there." she replied softly. "Okay." he said gently before leaving the room.

"I'm so sorry, Hera. They're going to answer for this." she said to the unconscious Twi'lek as her boyfriend gave her a comforting hug. "Come on. If we're going to make them pay, you'd best tell the others about them." he said after a few seconds of silence. Sabine gave him a gentle kiss before the two made their way back to the command centre.

* * *

"Fenn Rau, the Protector of Concord Dawn. That's who did this. That's who we're up against." the Mandalorian girl said as she and Anakin entered the room. "Rex, does that name sound familiar to you?" Kanan asked the clone as said man switched the hologram to that of Rau. _'It's good to see these two finally getting along.'_

"It sure does. Fenn Rau was a fighter pilot instructor for the Grand Army of the Republic. He also served..." Rex started explaining before the older Jedi finished. "At the Battle of Mygeeto. I know. I was there." he said.

"That was a long time ago." Sato pointed out. "So I guess negotiating's been taken off the table?" the older Jedi questioned.

"Yeah? You want to negotiate? Let's negotiate, by destroying their ability to attack us. I tracked them from Concord Dawn's third moon. They must have a base there." Sabine said as she changed the hologram to one of the planet.

"If they scan our fleet approaching, their fighters will cut us to pieces." Sato replied. "Then I guess we'll have to hit 'em before they take off." Kanan said. "You think you can infiltrate their base?" the Commander asked, sounding a bit surprised at the Jedi's confidence.

"I believe I can." the other man replied. "We can take out their fighters, all of them." the ex-merc's girlfriend said as Sato held his chin in thought. "Hmm. It's risky, but I approve." he said a few seconds later.

"Well, I don't. This is a solo mission, and I'm taking it. I'm already one man down. I won't risk anyone else." he said before turning to leave. "Kanan, I know the Mandalorians. You need me on this mission." Sabine insisted with a frown on her face, stopping him for a second as she placed her fists on her hips.

The older Jedi didn't reply as he continued forward before Ezra and Zeb cut him off. "No way." Zeb said. "We're a team." Ezra said, frowning and crossing his arms. "You can't go without us." the Lasat added.

"All right. I'll take Chopper." Kanan replied, gesturing to the droid who warbled a reply. "But that's all. And this is not open for further discussion. Come on, Chopper." he said to Zeb before addressing the droid who then let out frustrated warble. "Come on, Chopper!" the older Jedi argued back before leaving the room with a reluctant droid following.

Sabine turned back to the hologram once both left before grabbing her boyfriend's hand and leading out of the room.

"Where are we go-" the ex-merc started to ask before stopping and groaning as he realized where she was dragging him. "Anakin, please. I know you don't want them finding out about your heritage, but I need your help." she pleaded while continuing to pull him.

"I guess I'd be a pretty terrible boyfriend if I didn't help you when you asked for it." he replied with a weary sigh. His dread vanished somewhat from thanks to the smile she gave him right after his reply.

Luckily the two managed to sneak on board the Phantom before Kanan and hid in the cargo port under the floor that the ex-merc had no idea even existed until now. _'You learn something new everyday.'_

"I can hear you. And, yes, I know what I'm doing. Just program the nav computer." the couple heard Kanan tell the droid who warbled at him.

* * *

_Space, near Concord Dawn:_

_'Despite it being cramped in here, I'm definitely enjoying the position we're in.' _the teen thought as Sabine was lying on top of him. "Chopper, load up the intel Sabine gathered. We can pinpoint where their base is." the Jedi ordered before the droid warbled something as the teens exited the hold.

"What do you mean, 'Just ask her'?" he asked, sounding confused. "He means I'm standing right behind you." she said before walking up to him. "Better jam those scanners." she suggested as he took notice of Anakin as well.

"What are you two doing here?" Kanan asked, sounding shocked as Anakin sat down on one of the seats. "You must be pretty distracted not to have noticed that we stowed away. So, what are you really up to?" she asked before he sighed.

"You heard Sato's orders. I'm gonna destroy those fighters before they take off." he replied as she leaned against the chair. "I know you better than that." she replied. "Fine. I'm going to finish Hera's mission. We need to recruit the Mandalorians to join the rebellion." he explained.

"The Protectors almost killed Hera. What are you thinking?" she exclaimed questioningly. "I'm thinking we can still offer them a chance to change. Everyone deserves a chance." he replied before she scoffed.

"You know, this Jedi philosophy stuff doesn't work for everyone." she said dismissively before starting to turn around. "That's why we're at war." he said, stopping her for a second before turning his attention back to piloting as she crossed her arms and leaned against the right side of the shuttle.

* * *

_Third moon of Concord Dawn:_

Once they neared the ground, the two humans and hybrid jumped out of the shuttle before Chopper piloted it away so the Protectors wouldn't see it. The three then climbed up the cliff they were on to look over the Protectors base below.

"Well? What are we up against?" Kanan asked quietly as the teens scanned the area with their helmet antennas.

"Including the two starfighters on patrol? Eight ships total. But they're spread out, so it's gonna take us a while to plant charges. I think I brought enough explosives." she explained while sounding a bit unsure at the end.

"You always bring enough explosives." her boyfriend said, trying to reassure her. "Hopefully you won't have to use 'em. Now get down. They got company." the Jedi warned as an Imperial shuttle landed at the base and the rebels laid prone on the ground.

"Look's like the Empire bought their loyalty." he commented as they watched an Imperial officer with a case walk over to one of the Protectors. "See the Mandalorian accepting the credits? That's their leader, Fenn Rau." Sabine informed the other two.

Thanks to their antennas, the couple were not only able to zoom in on them but also hear what they were saying. Before Rau and the Imperial spoke, the Mandalorian girl pressed a button on her wrist comm, so the Jedi could hear as well.

"_Here is the payment for the next rotation._" the officer said as he handed Rau the case. "_This arrangement is working to your benefit. I encountered a squadron of rebels._" the Protector informed him before said Imperial took a step back in surprise.

"_The rebel fleet?_" he asked. "_Not an entire fleet. A couple fighters. But my men and I took care of them._" Rau replied as the officer relaxed a bit. "_If they return, be sure to contact us._" the Imperial said before getting a two finger salute in return as Rau started walking away.

"Oh, yeah. You're negotiations are gonna go great." Anakin said sarcastically as he and his girlfriend raised the antennas. "What's the plan? I mean, if diplomacy doesn't work." she asked the older man.

"You give me a chance to recruit the Mandalorians. If that doesn't work out, then you get to blow up their fighters. We have a deal?" he asked. "Fine. But not just the ships. Rau has to pay for what he did to Hera." she replied before they started to crawl away from the edge of the cliff. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Kanan said.

The three managed to make it down to the base before hiding behind one of the barracks and watching the shuttle take off. The trio then moved quickly to another building and waited for a few seconds before moving to another. The three quickly pressed right up against it as two Mandos walked by.

"Two rebels burned. The rest fled. He wants us to stay on guard." one of them said to the other. Once they passed, the three peeked around the corner and saw Rau walking into a smaller building.

"Plant your bombs, but wait for my signal." the Jedi said quietly before Sabine sighed. "All right." she replied, clearly still unsure about using diplomacy. "Hey. I trust you." he said before making his way to the building Rau went into while the teens turned around and headed for the fighters.

* * *

The couple quickly hid behind a building before Sabine did a quick sweep of the area. Once she was done, the girl nodded to her boyfriend before the two quickly made their way over to some explosive barrels.

Just as she was about signal him to move again they saw fighter descend near their location. As soon as it passed she turned to Anakin. "Okay. You take those ones and I got these ones." she said quietly while gesturing to one group then another that was roughly fifteen feet from the first.

"Got it." he replied both the both move quickly and quietly. The ex-merc placed his a detonator on the underside of the first fighter's right wing before quietly making his way over to the next.

"One more after this." he said to himself after placing another explosive. The ex-merc then crawled out from under the fighter before looking around for his girlfriend. After finally finding her, he saw that she was being held at blasterpoint by one of the Proctectors.

"You gotta be shitting me." he cursed under his breath before quietly making his over to them.

The ex-merc took cover behind one of the fighters just in time to see two more Mandos take aim. "Where did you steal that armor from, bounty hunter?" one of them demanded.

"Bounty hunter? Not lately. I forged this armor with my family." she replied before hopping up on top the fighter near them. "Family? That's a bold claim. What's your house?" the same one asked.

"I'm Clan Wren, House Vizsla." she replied. "House Vizsla?" another asked. "She's Death Watch." the first replied before the second took aim again. "Traitor!" the second accused, looking like he was about to shoot her any second now.

"My mother was, but I'm not. I came here to settle a score, and I invoke the code to seek justice through single combat." she said. "No one has invoked the code since the Empire took over." the first replied as Sabine holstered her blasters.

"Well, who's in charge here? The Empire or Mandalore?" she challenged. _'Better get in there, just incase.'_

Moving out from behind the wing, the teen made his way towards them. Anakin had to fight the urge defend himself as a few Mandos pointed their blasters at him upon being noticed.

"What clan are you?" the first Protector demanded as the the teen hopped up onto the fighter before standing beside his girlfriend. "I don't have a clan, my godmother gave this armor to father as a gift for me." he explained while crossing his arms.

* * *

Apparently with this Mandalorian 'Code' envoked, it meant the Mandos wouldn't shoot, even as the couple were escorted to Rau's building. Sure as hell didn't make Revan's descendant feel any better.

"Sabine, I thought we had an agreement." Kanan said with a frown. "They started it." she defended as Rau placed a hand on one of his pistols. "Your house is an enemy to the Protectors. Call out your opponent for combat to the death." he said before the ex-merc's girlfriend took off her helmet.

"I thought you'd never ask. I call out you, Fenn Rau. You're gonna pay for what you did to Hera." she challenged with a glare. "Just like I said, you rebels fight battles you can't win. I assume Hera is the pilot I shot to pieces earlier. I guess she didn't make it." he replied while taking a few steps away from the Jedi before facing Sabine.

"She's alive. Barely." she said, her glare not letting up. "I got to admit this is an interesting development. One of you came to befriend me, another came to kill me and... what about you?" Rau asked the other teen.

"Honestly? I was just dragged along." he admitted before sitting on the fighter wing behind him. "We can't let you attack our fleet. But we'd rather leave here as friends." Kanan told the Protectors' leader.

"He's already the enemy." the ex-merc's girlfriend snapped. "Sabine, you know this isn't what Hera wanted. She didn't want to create enemies and she wouldn't want you to die." the Jedi reminded.

"I'm not planning on dying." Sabine replied as she and Rau both had their hands hovering over the blasters. "I'm afraid the only way you're getting out of here alive is if she kills me, and that is not going to happen." the Protector said to the other man.

"What is it with you Mandalorians, never knowing how to solve anything except through the end of a blaster?!" Kanan asked, sounding exasperated as Anakin snorted in amusement at his words.

"Sabine, you do this, you're no better than him." the Jedi tried to reason. "You have to trust me." she replied, keeping her eyes locked on Rau while her boyfriend made his way around the Mandos to reach Kanan.

"Sabine, you make this choice and, win or lose, the Empire is going to be all over this system and the fleet." he tried reasoning again. "Kanan, you need to stop talking now." the ex-merc's girlfriend said firmly.

Anakin tensed the second Rau grabbed one of his blasters. Luckily Sabine was faster and managed to shoot the blaster out of his hand. "There are alternatives to killing." she said with a smile before placing her helmet back on then pressing a button on her wrist computer.

Knowing exactly what was about to happen, her boyfriend quickly turned to the side before tackling Kanan to the ground just as the bombs went off and the fighters exploded. "Thanks, kid." he thanked after the explosions were over.

"Hey. You saved me from Vader, it's the least I can do. Come on." he said, unholstering the DC-17m Rex had let him keep after Seelos while Kanan ignited his lightsaber. The two quickly made their way over to the Mandalorian girl before helping her up.

"Come on!" the Jedi urged her before the the three quickly ran into Rau's building.

* * *

"Eat plasma!" Anakin spat before switching to full automatic and keeping the Mandos from entering. Of course that didn't stop them trying to shoot the rebels, shots the older man occasionally had to deflect.

"Fuck..." the teen cursed as his blaster made clicking sounds when he pulled the trigger before diving for the cover Sabine and Kanan were behind. "Are you feeling better now? You got to blow stuff up." the Jedi said as he extinguished his blade then readied his blaster.

"I thought you'd be happy I didn't kill anyone." she replied before popping out to shoot at three Protectors. "Actually, I'm thrilled." he replied sarcastically. "Well, here's the bad news, Rau's fighter is at the far end of the field, and I wasn't able to set the charges on it before they captured me." she explained.

"You're saying we should go after him?" her boyfriend asked in surprise as he finally got his blaster working again. "Yes!" she replied before Kanan groaned in frustration. "Fine. But we are still not killing anyone." he said, begrudgingly agreeing with her plan.

"You love making this hard for me." she replied with a groan of frustration while he ignited his blade again. "I think it's his favorite pastime." Anakin quipped as the older man started deflecting blaster bolts.

The three quickly ran to the door while deflecting and suppressing fire before noticing Rau getting into his fighter just after exiting the building.

As the couple noticed Kanan running towards the Rau, the two made sure the Protectors focus remained on them. A few minutes passed before they saw the fighter take off into the sky, with the Jedi still on it.

"Chopper, I think we're done here." Sabine said over her comm before she and her boyfriend made for the exit.

* * *

Once again aboard the _Phantom_, the Mandalorian girl piloted it in the general direction they'd seen Rau's fighter go before she contacted Kanan. "Kanan. How's the plan going?" she asked. "_Just get up here!_" he snapped a few seconds later.

"Okay! Hang on!" she shot back. Roughly half a minute later they finally caught up to Rau's fighter before Anakin took the controls from her so she could get the older men. The ex-merc piloted the shuttle past them before slowing down to closer to the fighter.

"Kanan!" Anakin's girlfriend called out before the Jedi Force-jumped into the shuttle with an unconscious Rau.

Sabine chuckled at Kanan after closing the back of the shuttle. "When you set your mind to something, you're kind of frightening." she said with a hidden smile behind her helmet before moving over to her boyfriend and removing her helmet.

"You're doing really good for your first time piloting the shuttle. Your dad must've taught you a lot." she complimented. "Actually, he taught me very little. I'm not sure why, but i've always had a natural affinity for flying." he replied, his answer surprising her.

"How do you feel?" they heard Kanan ask a conscious Rau a few seconds later. "Like a prisoner." he replied with tone of contempt before his comm started beeping. "Better get that." the other man suggested with a smirk.

"Are you crazy? You can't let a prisoner receive outside communications." Sabine said sounding incredulous as the beeping continued. "Just answer it." the Jedi said, giving Rau a serious look before the man finally answered it.

"_Sir, are you all right? We're marshaling our reserve starfighters for pursuit._" a Protector informed him. "Stand down. There's no need." the Protectors leader assured. "B_ut, sir, if the Empire finds out about your capture..._" the Mando trailed off, sounding a bit worried.

"You're not gonna let that happen." his leader ordered. "_And the rebels?_" his subordinate asked. "Until I give the word, there is to be no mention of the rebels. And their ships are to be granted safe passage through our system." he replied.

"_As you wish._" the Protector replied, sounding weary before disconnecting.

* * *

_Space. Phoenix Squadron:_

With Rau now in binders, the couple and Jedi escorted him onto the Liberator before being met by two rebels.

"Welcome to the Rebellion." Kanan said before crossing his arms. "Right now we are only friends because we have to be." he replied curtly before the two rebels took over escorting him.

"What does that mean?" Sabine asked the Jedi. "Well, the Empire are the last group to make a habit of rescuing people." her boyfriend answered instead as he crossed his arms too.

"The last thing Rau wants is Imperial ships all over his territory, and that's exactly what he'd get if they found out he was our prisoner." the older man added before they were greeted by Ezra.

"Kanan, Sabine, Anakin. Hera wants to see you." he informed them before the three quickly made their way to the medbay.

"I hear we're taking prisoner now." the Twi'lek said with a small smile after they entered the room. "I like to think of him more as a reluctant recruit." Kanan said with a small smirk as Sabine walked up to her bed.

"It was better than the alternative. There was no need to take their lives if we didn't have to." the younger woman said with a smile. "Hmm. Sabine, you're sounding more like a Jedi than a Mandalorian." Hera teased.

"Well, I guess I've just been raised right." Sabine replied, looking at Kanan for a second before Anakin put his hands up. "Okay, that's it. I've had enough Jedi stuff for one day." he said, much to the amusement of the other three as he exited the room.

**Whew. Finally chapter 21 is done.**


	22. Legends of the Lasat

_Nixus, Hub 218:_

After Hera landed the ship in the hanger the crew exited into the hanger. "Ezra, I'm proud of you for taking the lead on this rescue mission." she said with a smile. "You would've done the same thing." he replied, mirroring her smile as the group walked through the hanger.

"You said these people are wanted by the Empire. Do you know why?" Kanan asked him. "No, but I hear they're closing in. We better hurry." his apprentice replied. "So where'd you hear about these refugees anyway?" Zeb asked.

"Huh? Oh, you know, one of our, uh, contacts. Speaking of, Chopper, you better let him know we're here." the kid replied quickly before addressing the droid who then pulled out a light green transmitter from one of his compartments.

"Hey! Where'd you get that transmitter?" Sabine asked, sounding suspicious before the droid warbled. "There's no answer! We better hurry." Ezra said urgently before he and the other humanoid rebels started jogging.

A few seconds later they entered a cargo hold before hiding behind one of the containers. "Oh, no. We're too late." Ezra said quietly as he peeked around the side. "Drag those refugees out of there." the officer ordered before two stormtroopers opened a large container.

"Move!" one of them ordered the refugees as the others joined Ezra in looking around the corner. Unfortunately all they could see at first were the troopers before said refugees came into sight, surprising the _Ghost_ crew.

Both refugees were Lasats.

"My people. They're Lasat." Zeb whispered quietly in surprise. "Move!" one of the trooper ordered. "Where are you taking us?" the male asked the Imperials. "To a detention facility for a nice, long stay." the officer replied with a smug smirk as Zeb moved around the crates to get behind them.

"Hmm. More likely a blaster squad." the male replied grimly before Zeb ambushed two of the troopers. The others quickly jumped in to help with the couple knocking one trooper to the ground out cold while Hera and Kanan killed two more before holding the officer at blasterpoint.

The officer backed away in fear before the younger Jedi stunned him from behind. "Hello, hello! You arrived just in time, as I knew you would." a Weequay greeted with a grin as he appeared behind the younger teen and Chopper.

Anakin instantly recognized the man from his father's stories and had to fight the urge to bash his skull in. "Ohnaka..." he growled venomously as his girlfriend gave him a concerned look.

"You could have warned me the Empire was here." Ezra said as the pirate walked up to them. "Ah, but I sold the Lasats to the Empire knowing the heroes would save the day. You being the heroes, of course." he replied with a chuckle.

"Hondo is your contact?" the Twi'lek asked the younger Jedi, not sounding very thrilled. "To be fair, he contacted me." he replied. "Yes, to be fair. Because I knew these two belonged with that one." Ohnaka said while gesturing first to the two Lasat then Zeb.

"It is him. Captain Orrelios." the male said with a smile as the elderly female gasped in happiness. "By the Ashla. The prophecy!" she said, smiling as well. "Captain?" Ezra asked with a smirk.

"Yes." the woman replied, still smiling. "Captain Garazeb Orrelios of the Lasan High Honor Guard." continued the woman as she and the male walked up to him before bowing. Zeb merely groaned and facepalmed before the pirate laughed.

"A reunion! I was right again. How wonderful." he said while walking up to the knocked out officer then dropping to one knee. "Hondo could use a little help." he said to Sabine and her boyfriend.

The ex-merc reluctantly crouched down to grab an arm while the Mandalorian girl did the same and Ohnaka grabbed an ankle before the three moved in order to hide the officer in the crate the two Lasat were in earlier.

"I'm only helping you because I don't want the Imperials finding out. No. Other. Fucking. Reason. Got it?!" the teen hissed getting a nervous chuckle and nod in return while Sabine looked at him in concern again.

* * *

Once they were done the rebels along with the two other Lasat made their way through the corridors and back to the ship. Anakin tuned out the conversation Ezra and Zeb were having with the other two Lasat as the ex-merc and other rebels walked a few feet ahead of them.

A few minutes passed before they heard Ohnaka's voice over the comm Chopper had. "_Ezra, my boy. It's your pal Hondo._" he said before the droid handed over the transmitter to the younger teen.

"What is it, Hondo?" he asked. "_Just so you know, there are, uh, stormtroopers on their way._" he replied. "How close are they?" he asked before blaster fire flew past them. "Pretty close." the pirate replied before cutting off.

"Son of a bitch!" Anakin exclaimed before gunning all three troopers down with his DC-17m. "They've got backup!" Kanan warned. "So do we. Here!" Sabine exclaimed before tossing two of the dead troopers E-11s at Gron.

"Oh, no. We do not fight. It is no longer our way." he said before Zeb tackled him just in time avoid taking a bolt to the head. "What? You're Lasat. You're warriors. Course you fight!" Zeb growled as a few more stormtrooper appeared at the end of the hall.

"This just keeps getting better." the Twi'lek said sarcastically as three more troopers appeared in the hallway behind them.

"Dammit!" Ahsoka's son cursed as his blaster jammed again before narrowly avoiding a bolt to the head. "That tears it!" he snarled while throwing the blaster on the ground. The teen walked out into the middle of the junction then held his hands out towards both sets of trooper before grabbing all six in a single Force-choke.

Everyone flinched the second they heard the audible 'snap' sound. The ex-merc used the Force to summon the blaster back before making his past the corpses of the first set of troopers.

Despite what Anakin had done a few minutes earlier, it apparently wasn't enough as another small squad of trooper found the just as they finally reached the hanger. Once inside, the ex-merc jumped on the nearest trooper before mercilessly shooting him in the head as Hera killed another.

As soon as he entered the hanger bay, the older Jedi ignited his blade and was about to defend himself from the last trooper before watching in horror as Anakin literally crushed the man's body, armor and all.

The Twi'lek looked like she was actually going to puke while Anakin's girlfriend looked away from the mangled bloody corpse. As the ex-merc walked to the ship, Kanan watched with a frown as he could sense nothing but the Dark Side surrounding the teen.

As they entered the hanger, the Lasat and younger teen did a double take when they saw the mangled corpse before quickly following the others onto the ship.

Once on board the others minus Anakin made their way to the cockpit while Ahsoka's sone entered his and Sabine's room before letting out a shaky as he tried to calm himself.

* * *

_Somewhere in hyperspace:_

Anakin flinched when the door opened and he didn't need the Force to know it was other person who shared this room. "Ani... What happened?" she asked softly while walking up to him. Her boyfriend let out a tired sigh before turning to face her with a look of guilt on his face.

"I'm sorry... I hoped you'd never see me lose control like that..." he apologized softly before she bit her lip and looked at the ground for a moment. "You actually scared me today..." she whispered after turning her attention back to him.

The ex-merc could feel his guilt increase tenfold at her words. "I'm so sorry, Snips..." he apologized softly again before deciding to explain why he'd lost his temper.

"Ohnaka. He uh... Kidnapped my mother during the clone wars in order to get some kyber crystals. When she wouldn't give up the location of the kids who had them, he uh... tortured her. He tortured her while she was pregnant with me. If it weren't for dad healing afterwards, there's no telling what kind of effect that would've had on me." he explained quietly.

Sabine had covered her mouth from shock at hearing his story before hugging him tightly. After a few second passed he slowly pushed her away so he could look her in the eyes. "Listen, I would never hurt you, Sabine, never." he promised softly before kissing her gently and wrapping his arms around her waist as she returned the kiss.

The pleasure he felt from the kiss was soon replaced by a painful throbbing in one of his temples.

_Listen, I would never let anyone hurt you, Ahsoka, never._

_Then you will die._

The teen mentally shook off the vision before gently pulling away from his girlfriend. "Come on, we should head to the cockpit." she said, smiling gently before taking his hand and leading him out of their room.

* * *

Once the couple entered the cockpit, the Mandalorian girl gently pushed him onto the chair behind Kanan's before sitting in his lap and leaning against him mere seconds before the three Lasat entered the room.

"Okay, so where is this new world we're taking you?" the older Jedi asked Gron and Chava. "We do not yet have the location of Lira San." the woman replied. "We have maps if you need 'em." Hera offered.

"There is no Lira San, Hera. It's a myth, an old legend." Zeb said dismissively. "The time has come to prepare the ritual that will guide us to our new home." she said before he rolled his eyes.

"Come on. I'll help you get set up." Ezra said before getting out of his seat and leading the two other Lasat out of the cockpit. "Better go make sure they don't drive that kid crazy." Zeb said sighing wearily before going after them.

"This is going to be an interesting ride." the ex-merc's girlfriend commented.

* * *

A few minutes later the couple and Twi'lek entered the common room to see Chava and Gron chanting while standing and sitting on some chalk drawings. "We are ready for your map." the male said to Kanan who then nodded to Chopper.

Chava looked held her staff in both hands as she looked at the holomap the droid projected. "The path to Lira San will be revealed through the fates of The Three." she said before the gem on her staff glowed, causing the planets to glow as well.

"The child must save the warrior and the fool." she continued before pausing to look at the map. "The child must show us the way." she added before Zeb nudged Ezra forward while smirking.

"No. The child of Lasan." she said to him with a mysterious smile. "Wait, wait. I'm the child? I really wanted to be the warrior." he complained with a growl. "You're kinda acting like a child." Ezra teased, earning a glare in return.

"Your bo-rifle, as the ancients used it." Gron said after Zeb stepped up to the hologram. The other Lasat pulled two parts of it up before extending it a bit then watching as the two parts he pulled away automatically extended all the way up to make the rifle look like a trident.

Zeb then moved then into the middle of the map before yellow ball of electricity formed at the end. The group watched as electricity occasionally shot out to touch the planets before Kanan spoke.

"Those systems are beyond the Outer Rim, in Wild Space. Not on any map." he said. "The child must show us the way." the female spoke to Zeb before the electricity focused on a single planet.

"That's it. That's it. Lira San." Zeb said in awe.

* * *

Anakin fiddled with his DC-17m before turning his attention to his girlfriend as she sighed. "How far is it to Lira San?" she asked Hera. "Well, judging by this..." she started to reply before being cut off as the ship suddenly shook.

"Power down the hyperdrive. I'll ready the shields. Chopper!" she ordered the younger woman before addressing the droid. Chopper warbled as he came rolling into the cockpit before plugging into the droid port behind Anakin's seat.

"What's wrong?" Ezra asked after he and Kanan came running into the cockpit. "There's something in our path." she replied before finally powering down the hyperdrive. "What is that?" the younger Jedi asked as they saw the imploded star cluster.

"Imploded star cluster, biggest one I've ever seen." the Twi'lek said as they got closer to the big imploded star. "Nice save." the older Jedi said to her. "If we get any closer, the gravity field will destroy us." she replied before the three Lasat joined them.

"What happened? Are we on course?" Gron asked. "Sure are, but our course is blocked by the worst kind of space anomaly we could've encountered." Anakin replied. "This is what happens when we jump into uncharted space." Hera said before Chava walked up to stand in between her and the Mandalorian girl.

"Ah. This is the maze that was prophesized." she spoke while looking at the cluster. "Wait, a maze? You never said anything about a maze. You prophecy types always pull something like this." Zeb said, clearly frustrated at her before the console in front of Hera and Sabine started beeping.

"Now what?" the rebel Lasat groaned in frustration as Anakin sensed a familiar Imperial nearby. "It's Kallus." he said before the man's voice came over the ship's comm.

"_Attention, rebels. As much as I might like to watch you consumed by the maelstrom before you, I will offer you a chance to surrender, an opportunity for survival._" he said. "How did he find us?" Zeb questioned with a frown.

"_Hello, my friends!_" a familiar pirate greeted cheerfully. "Hondo? What are you doing with him?" Ezra demanded. "_I must apologize, Ezra. I hid a tracker on that transmitter. You know, for insurance purposes._" the Weequay replied.

Letting out an angry warble Chopper took out the transmitter before Anakin grabbed it from him then crushed it in his mechanical hand. "Well, thanks a lot, Hondo. You've been a great help today." the young Jedi thanked sarcastically.

"_You have one minute to prepare for boarding, or to be destroyed._" the Imperial warned before cutting off. "I can't believe this. Kallus has got us." Zeb growled. "He plays his part, as warrior." the female Lasat said sagely.

"Wait, he is the warrior? And I got stuck being the child?" Zeb asked in disbelief.

"There are many warriors, fools and children, Captain. The child in you can't see how things are, but how they can be. The fool denies his destiny, but it is the warrior you are who will create one. You are never one of these. In time, you become all of them." she explained while tapping him twice on the head with her staff during the speech.

"Ezra, bring me my bo-rifle." he asked his friend, who then exited the cockpit. "What are you thinkin', buddy?" the older Jedi asked the rebel Lasat before Ezra came back into the cockpit.

"You can do this, Zeb. I know it." he said before handing his friend the rifle. "Just like the ancients used it." Zeb said as he turned it on. "_Your time is up, rebels._" Kallus said as the Lasat walked up to Hera and Sabine before holding the end of rifle over the console.

"Zeb, what are you doing?" the ex-merc's girlfriend asked in surprise as electricity from the rifle latched onto the console. "Leading the way." he replied. "Zeb!" the Twi'lek said, sounding worried while holding her arms up to cover her head just in case.

"Trust me, Hera." he assured before the ship automatically started heading towards the massive imploded star. As they got closer roughly a minute later, Zeb took the rifle away before pressing the bottom of it against the console.

"I see it! A way through!" he said a few minutes later as they got closer to the imploded star. "I don't know how, but the hyperdrive is activating." Hera informed them before the ship suddenly picked up speed, and just they reached the star, the ship immediately jumped to hyperspace.

* * *

_Near Lira San:_

Once the ship dropped out of hyperspace, some of the group slowly started to pick themselves off the floor or sit back up in their chairs. "Ow! Was that really necessary?" Ezra asked Chopper after the droid hit his head to get him up.

"Zeb!" he exclaimed in worry upon seeing his friend laying unconscious against the middle of console. "Get him up." Kanan said as he, his Padawan and Gron helped the other Lasat stand.

"Captain Orrelios!" he said in concern before patting Zeb lightly on the face to wake him up. "Hey, buddy. You hurt?" the younger Jedi asked in concern. "I've had worse." he replied with tired sigh and rubbing his head.

"You alright Sabine?" her boyfriend asked after standing from his chair and checking on her as she came to. "I'm all right." she replied tiredly. "I've never seen better." the rebel Lasat said in awe after turning around to look outside.

"We're home." he said quietly. "Lira San." Chava said with a smile.

* * *

The couple, Hera and Chopper joined the two Jedi in the cockpit just as Zeb finally returned in the _Phantom_. "Well, I'm sorry, Chopper. You're gonna have to put all of Zeb's stuff back in his room." the Twi'lek said with a smirk as the droid warbled in annoyance.

"Kinda sad, those two Lasat all alone on that planet." Sabine said as the group looked back at the planet. "They're not alone." Zeb said softly as he joined them. "What are you talking about?" Anakin asked as he and the others turned to face their friend.

"There were already Lasat down there. Lira San is where my people originally came from." he replied with a small smile before Chopper let out a confused warble. "Yes, Chopper, that means there's a lot more of him." the Mandalorian girls replied with a smirk. Anakin snickered at the droid grumbling warble.

"Yes." Hera said to the droid with a smile before addressing the rest. "We can go home now." she said. "Yeah. How do we get home?" the younger Jedi asked. "Consider this system charted, which means now that the Ghost has been here, we can always come back." she explained.

"And if we meet any other Lasat, I will show them the way." their friend said as they all looked back at the peaceful system...

**Chapter 22 is done.**


	23. The Call

_Space, near the Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery:_

Anakin rubbed his arms to try keeping them warm at the same time Hera rubbed some fog off the window beside her. "Sabine, fuel status." she said to he younger woman. ".05. We're almost down to fumes." the Mandalorian girl replied before rubbing her arms as well.

"Sorry, guys. Have to divert more power from thermal subsystems. Reducing heat to two percent." she informed the others over the ship's comm while pressing a few button on the console above her.

"_Our intel on this fuel source better be solid. I'm losing feeling in my fingers._" Kanan replied as Chopper entered the cockpit. "Saw the report myself. Somewhere in this belt, the Mining Guild's been refining clouzon-36 for the Empire." she explained as the droid warbled and handed Sabine a datapad.

"Whoa. One shipment of that stuff could fuel us and all the ships in Phoenix Squadron for a full cycle." she said while looking through the datapad. "Empire is scheduled to pick up their shipment today. We just have to get there and find it first." the Twi'lek replied as she looked back outside and Chopper warbled.

"The asteroid field is scrambling our sensors." the ex-merc's girlfriend said with a small frustrated sigh before looked over her shoulder to read the datapad. "Well, I'm getting nothing on the old visual scanners." Ezra said from where he was sitting in the nose gun seat, voice shivering a bit from the cold.

"All right. Cut the chatter. Keep your eyes peeled for that refinery." Hera told them before Ahsoka's son heard a wailing noise. "Does anyone hear that noise?" the young Jedi asked.

"_The only thing I hear is my brain freezing._" Zeb replied with a shivering groan. "I hear it too." Anakin replied, moving to Sabine's left to look outside before the wailing was heard. "There. The noise. I hear it again. It's, it's getting louder." he said before it did indeed get louder.

"_I don't see anything out here. What's it sound like?_" the older Jedi asked the other two Force-sensitives. "It's, it's hard to describe. Kind of sad, I guess. But... I mean, how can you not hear it? It's coming from all around us." his apprentice replied before Hera looked at Sabine who only shrugged.

"Ezra, there's nothing to hear. Sabine, check the scanners again." the Twi'lek replied before addressing the younger woman. "Uh, yeah... You may want to look outside instead." Ahsoka's son said quickly as he pointed at the seven large creatures heading straight towards them.

"Whoa." Ezra said in awe before Chopper let out a panicked warble as the creatures reached them. "Brace yourselves!" Hera warned before the creatures started to pass by them.

The ship shook a bit when one of the creatures would occasionally bump into them. "What the bloody blazes are those?" the Lasat asked in surprise. "Purrgils." she replied before pressing a few buttons on the upper console.

"They'll rip the hull apart. Prepare to fire. We gotta drive them back." she added before getting ready to shoot. "Don't shoot! They'll pass. Just let 'em do what they do." Kanan said to her.

"What they do is destroy starships like ours." she replied. "_We can't waste power fighting these things._" he argued. "What choice do we have?" she shot back. "We could just get out of their way." the Mandalorian girl suggested. "See? Now there's a plan." her boyfriend spoke up in agreement.

"We either run into them or the asteroids. Take your pick." Hera replied. "Try flying with them instead of against them." Ezra suggested. "Uh, that's not a half-bad idea." Sabine said in agreement.

"Fine. I can't believe I'm doing this." the Twi'lek replied. "_It's not the strangest thing we've ever done._" the older Jedi commented. "Yeah, that doesn't make me feel better." she replied before starting the ship up then turning it around.

"I think they've calmed down. I'm not hearing them anymore." the ex-merc said after sitting back down. "_That was a good instinct, Ezra. How did you know?_" his master asked, sounding impressed.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do." he replied. "Okay, we're low on fuel, surrounded by asteroids, and caught in a swarm of Purrgil. How has the situation improved exactly?" Hera questioned as they flew alongside the purrgil.

"_Hello? Are we shooting them or not? 'Cause here comes a really big one._" Zeb said, sounding a bit worried. "Wow. These creatures are amazing. Who would want to shoot them?" the younger Jedi wondered.

"_Hera, if you gave her the chance._" his master replied. "Kanan, you don't know what you're talking about. I do." she snapped. "_Well, since I'm so uneducated, why don't you explain your problem?_" he shot back as Anakin rolled his eyes at their bickering.

"These creatures are a menace. A big, lumbering menace." she shot back before the two younger Force-sensitives heard the wailing again. _'Ah hell, now what?' _"Something's upsetting them again." Ahsoka's son said.

"_Maybe it's Hera._" the Lasat replied. "_No, it's not Hera. TIE fighters. Two of 'em. I need a better angle._" Kanan said before one of the TIEs hit them with three blasts as it flew overhead.

"Hang on!" the Twi'lek warned before pulling the ship up above the purrgil.

Right after sensing the death of one of the pilots, the teens and Hera saw the second fly over them and noticed it wasn't an Imperial TIE. "Those TIEs have been modified. They're not Imperial." Sabine pointed out.

"_Well, they're acting like it._" the older Jedi replied before the TIE turned around for another run. "I've got him. I've got him." his Padawan said before they heard a beeping sound. "Hera, I lost my cannons." he said to her.

"Rerouting auxiliary power from the _Phantom_." she said while pressing a few buttons.

"Hera!" Ezra said urgently as the remaining TIE got close enough to open fire on them. Ezra yelled in fear as the fighter got right in front of them before the Twi'lek finally managed to reroute power.

The younger teen quickly blasted it before sighing in relief. "_Oh, see? If we shot at the Purrgil, we wouldn't have had..._" Kanan started before Hera shut the comm off so she wouldn't hear his 'I told you so' speech.

"Those fighters were Mining Guild." the ex-merc's girlfriend said to her. "They must be from the refinery. You think you can track where they came from?" the Twi'lek asked her. "Maybe. Give me a minute." she replied a few seconds before the older Jedi entered the room.

"As I was saying, it's a good thing we didn't waste energy shooting at the purrgil." he said with a smirk and leaning against the chair opposite of Anakin's. "I heard you the first time." she replied, annoyance in her tone.

"Something's happening." Ezra said as they saw the purrgil heading in a different direction. "They're turning around. I think we should follow them." he added a few seconds later.

"Following them is the last thing we should do. Sabine, did you find out where the fighters came from yet?" she replied before addressing the younger woman while Kanan sat down.

"I did." the Mandalorian girl replied. "Good. What's our heading?" Hera asked. "Follow the purrgil." she replied, earning a surprised look in return. "What?" she asked. "Yeah, I hate to tell you this, but the purrgil are heading right where I calculated those fighters came from." she replied.

"That's so interesting." the older Jedi said with mock enthusiasm while smirking at the Twi'lek. "All right. I guess for now we follow the purrgil." she hesitantly agreed. "Hey. For what it's worth, I've got a good feeling about this." the younger Jedi reassured after climbing up the ladder.

Hera turned her seat back around before piloting the ship towards the purrgil. "Go check your cabins. Make sure everything is switched off. We've gotta save every little bit of fuel." she told the others after catching up to the purrgil.

Since Sabine was exiting the cockpit, her boyfriend decided to stay behind with Ezra and Hera. "I never imagined there were creatures in deep space." the kid said as he walked up to her.

"When I was young, I was told amazing stories of creatures that lived in the stars, traveled between the worlds. Old pilots said it was the Purrgil who inspired us to jump from system to system. But I don't believe it. The Purrgil are dangerous. They wander into hyperspace lanes, crash into ships. I've lost more than one friend that way." she replied.

"Maybe they don't realize they're putting people in danger." the ex-merc suggested. "Maybe it's like Kanan says, you know. They just do what they do." the younger teen agreed.

"Right now, as long as they don't come between me and my mission, I really don't care what they do." she replied dismissively before he chuckled. "Fair enough." he said with a smile before the alarm went off as they neared some planetoid.

"Scanners are picking up an energy source from that planetoid ahead." she said while looking at one of the screens on the console. "Think it's the refinery?" Ahsoka's son asked while getting up from his seat and walking over to stand behind hers.

"We're about to find out." she replied before they got closer to the massive crater filled with unrefined clouzon-36 gas. "There it is. The refinery." she said a few seconds later as they neared the refinery.

"I wonder why the purrgil are headed that way." Anakin wondered. "Works out for us. Between them and all these asteroids, the Mining Guild will never see us coming." the Twi'lek replied before they heard grunting and turned their heads to see Zeb forcing the doors open.

"The automatic doors aren't so automatic anymore." he grumbled before Kanan and Sabine moved under his arm to enter the cockpit. "I've rationed what energy we have left." Hera replied as he let the door close behind him.

"What's your next move?" the older Jedi asked as the Mandalorian girl moved over to the console behind the seat her boyfriend was sitting in earlier. "I want to get a secure position to plan our attack. Sabine, Chopper, ready a short, controlled burst from the engines. In three, two, one. Now!" she ordered before the ship suddenly sped up.

* * *

_Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery:_

As they neared a small asteroid above the refinery, Hera quickly slowed the ship before landing on it. "Okay. So how exactly are we gonna pull off this raid with our limited resources?" the Lasat asked, sounding skeptical of their odds.

"Well, give me a second and I'll tell you." Sabine replied before walking up between Hera and Ezra.

The Mandalorian girl then held up a pair of macrobinoculars to scan the area. "Okay. More fighters. That's not good. Anti-ship cannon, also not good. But... Aha. There's the Empire's shipment. Okay, lots of guards around, but I think we can drop down there, scoop it up and go." she told them.

"Forget the scoop job. We have just barely enough fuel to get down there. We'll have to land." Hera replied. "Refuel on the platform? They'll blast us to bits. We need a diversion." Zeb said as Ezra took the macrobinoculars from the ex-merc's girlfriend before scanning the platform.

"I've got one. The gas in that pool is unrefined clouzon-36. Highly explosive in its pure form. We drop in a few charges, the blast will provide all the diversion we need." she said. "In the chaos, we grab the fuel." Anakin said, catching onto her plan.

"And that huge fireball will destroy the Empire's ability to refine more. I like it." the Twi'lek said before addressing the younger teen. "Ezra, you hear the plan?" she asked him. "Yeah, sure." he replied, sounding a bit distracted before he lowered the macrobinoculars.

"Uh, they're using the cannon to shoot the purrgil. Why would they bother?" he questioned. "Speaking of, how do we get past that gun undetected?" Sabine asked as he went back to looking through the macrobinoculars.

"We jump." Kanan said, getting everyone's attention. "Excuse me?" the Mandalorian girl asked, sounding surprised. "We're in the upper atmosphere. We can glide in on the catwalk. With all the purrgil around, we can probably slip by unseen." he replied.

"Sounds like a dangerous plan." the Lasat said. "Don't worry, buddy. You're staying here." the older Jedi replied while placing a hand his friend's shoulder. "Oh. Sounds like a good plan." Zeb said, sounding a bit relieved before turning around and opening the door for Kanan and the couple.

* * *

"Sabine, do you have the helmet I lent you?" Kanan asked as he joined the teens and droid in the cargo hold. Without a word she tossed the painted stormtrooper helmet to him. "What?" he asked in surprise at seeing the paintjob.

"You said you just wanted to look at it." he said sounding annoyed. "I did look at it. And it looked bad." she replied with a smirk before they both put their helmets on. "I think it looks great." her boyfriend complimented while looking at her.

The girl smiled behind her helmet before the ramp opened and lowered. "Wait. We're not taking the _Phantom_?" the younger teen asked as the ex-merc's girlfriend clipped four proximity bombs onto her belt.

"You know, you should really pay more attention." she chided. "How are we getting down there?" he asked. "Like Kanan said. We jump." the ex-merc said before the older man jumped first, followed by Anakin then his girlfriend and finally the kid and Chopper.

As they fell through the air, Sabine grabbed onto her boyfriend before a few purrgil started moving alongside them.

"Wow." the younger Jedi said in awe as he and one of the purrgil looked at each other for a moment before it and the others flew off. "Five seconds." Kanan told them as they neared an unoccupied bridge.

The ex-merc landed with ease before his girlfriend let go at the same time Kanan landed. Unfortunately Ezra hadn't got the hang of using the Force to slow his fall and instead kept going over the side before his master reached for him with the Force to pull him back up.

Ahsoka's son grabbed him by the hand as he neared them before helping the kid onto the bridge. "I'm gonna have to work on that." he said while panting from fear. "I'm gonna make sure you do." the older man replied while placing his hands on his hips.

"Look out!" he warned, igniting his blade as rodian worker opened fire them. Ezra ignited his blade too as Kanan started deflecting blaster fire. "So much for our stealth mission. Sabine. Toss the detonators." the older Jedi ordered.

"I'm on it." she replied before activating all four. "Detonators?" the younger Jedi asked in surprise before sheathing his saber then knocking the bombs out of her hands. "What the hell are you doing?!" Anakin demanded as he fired off a few shots from his DC-15S.

"Ezra, are you crazy?" the older Jedi asked incredulously after the kid picked up the bombs. "We can't blow up the gas!" he defended as Sabine fired off a few more shots. "Don't tell me this is about the purrgil." she asked, sounding frustrated.

"It is." he replied firmly. "Hold that thought. Sabine!" Kanan said before dropping to one knee to give her a shot. The Mandalorian girl quickly took it and gunned down the rodian before they all ducked as another rodian working the cannon that was behind the first miner opened fire on them.

Thinking quickly, the ex-merc released a hand from his blaster before thrusting it forward and releasing a controlled Force push that moved past the two Jedi who were charging the rodian, and knocking him off the end of the bridge.

Both then turned to face their friend with shocked looks behind their helmets. "Did you just _control _that Force push?" Ezra asked in awe. "Pretty much, yeah." the other teen replied with a shrug.

"Okay. Explain yourself." the older Jedi asked his apprentice after snapping out of his surprise. "Okay. The gas and the purrgil are connected. We can't blow up the gas without hurting them." the kid replied before the older man hummed.

"Kanan, what's the plan?" Anakin's girlfriend asked him. "I trust your instincts, kid. Now get on that cannon and cover us." he ordered the youngest teen who then ran over to the cannon.

"What exactly are we doing?" Ahsoka's son asked the older Jedi. "We're going to secure the landing zone." he replied before taking off with the droid and couple following him.

* * *

The three were still running when Hera suddenly contacted the Mandalorian girl. "We're improvising, again. Kanan, Anakin and I are securing the landing zone while Ezra covers us with the cannon." she replied to the Twi'lek's question.

"The purrgil changed the plan." she answered again after a few more seconds passed. "Hera, if you're looking for a guarantee, you are on the wrong mission. We'll contact you when the platform is clear." the younger woman answered once more before cutting off just as they reached the end of the bridge.

As a miner opened fire, the four quickly took cover behind a container that was roughly as tall as the two men. "Where's my cover fire?" Kanan asked his apprentice over his helmet's comm as two more rodian appeared and opened fire on them.

The four watched as the cannon blasts scared off the rodian shooting from the balcony above before a few blasts neared the other two who were near some fuel canisters. "Careful! Don't hit the fuel." Sabine warned him over her comm.

A few seconds later the younger Jedi managed to scare the other two rodians away before she contacted Hera. "Hera, you better get down here. Your landing zone is temporarily secure." she informed the Twi'lek.

Almost immediately after she contacted the other woman, the four saw the _Ghost _descend onto the platform nearby.

* * *

Unfortunately it wasn't long before the four were under cannon fire again by a rodian on one of the tower balconies. "Spectre-6, do you copy?" the older Jedi asked his apprentice as another bolt hit their cover. "I believe we need cover fire!" he replied urgently after Ezra spoke.

As soon as their friend got the rodian's attention, the four quickly made their way over to the ship to help Zeb move the canisters on board. "Son of a-!" the ex-merc cursed as bolt from one of the two rodians on the landing platform, skimmed his helmet before he retaliated by shooting the same one in the head. "Heads up." he joked darkly.

Anakin then turned his attention back to the other miner as Sabine and Chopper each moved a canister onto the ship, while Kanan and Zeb helped him with suppressing fire. A few seconds later, the teen focused on keeping the Lasat safe as he attempted to refuel the ship.

"Refuel commencing." he announced before they heard the familiar sound of TIE fighter. "Shit." the teen cursed as turned his to look at them. Noticing them as well, Kanan quickly ran towards the ship before jumping on top and igniting his blade to deflect blasts from one of the fighters.

* * *

"We need to find Ezra." Zeb said as he and the couple covered Chopper, who was moving one of the last canisters on to the ship. "Without fuel, we can't find anybody." Sabine said as the three kept firing.

A few seconds later the TIEs came back and held them at blasterpoint just as the Mandalorian girl and Lasat were pushing the last two canisters on to the ship. "Surrender, thieves. You are at my mercy." an unknown alien ordered from a nearby balcony. "What is your answer?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

Fortunately they were almost immediately saved as a group of purrgil came flying out of the gas cloud and destroyed one of the TIEs. Sabine and Zeb both gasped in surprise and awe as they and her boyfriend saw Ezra riding the lead purrgil with his lightsaber ready.

"Found Ezra." the Lasat said. "Blast those disgusting things!" they heard the foreman order the rodians before the kid deflected bolts from the two beside their boss. A moment later the remaining fighter made a turn to come in for an attack run on the kid and purrgil. Just as it reached them, he swung his saber an managed to cut off one of it's wings.

"Impressive. most impressive." Anakin said as he actually found himself impressed by the kid and chuckled a bit after the TIE exploded before moving over to help his girlfriend push the second last canister up the ramp.

"This is the last one. Go. Go!" Zeb said urgently as he pushed the last one up the ramp with the ex-merc's help after he was done helping his girlfriend but. Hera then started up the ship before slowly taking off.

The couple then quickly made their way to the cockpit before sitting in their respective seats to help if needed. Anakin's eyes widened after seeing the foreman get grabbed by one of the purrgil before it flew into the cloud.

Once the purrgil left the factory, the Twi'lek opened fire on the place before launching two rockets then taking off as the factory exploded.

* * *

The ex-merc relaxed in his seat the second they were back in space before Chopper and Zeb joined them. A few minutes later the two Jedi soon joined them. "It wasn't like anything I've ever experienced. I could see what they were thinking." the younger Jedi said.

"You must have established a deep connection with them." his master said with a smile. "I guess so. I could see they need gas to breathe and travel. The crater wasn't their home, just one stop on a long journey." the kid replied before the rebels looked back at the purrgil flying ahead of them.

"I have to admit, without the help of the Purrgil, we never would have gotten off the ground again." the Twi'lek admitted. "Whoa. Look." the ex-merc's girlfriend said in awe as they all saw the tentacles on the purrgil start glowing.

"Can it be?" the older woman whispered in awe before all but one purrgil jump to hyperspace. "It is true. They can travel through hyperspace." Ezra said after the last on jumped as well.

"We better get moving, too." the older Jedi suggested with a small chuckle. "Back to the fleet?" Anakin asked with a small smile before Hera returned it. "How 'bout we follow the purrgil?" she suggested before making the ship jump to hyperspace after their new friends...

**It's always nice when an episode ends on a happy note.**


	24. Homecoming

_Space, Phoenix Home:_

The _Ghost_ crew made their way to an upper docking tube of the _Liberator_ in order to meet with Cham Syndulla. "How do I look?" Kanan asked his apprentice while trying to fix up his shirt. "Hmm, same as always. Why?" he asked before they all stopped a few feet away from the door.

"Straighten up a little bit. You're making me look bad." he replied, nudging the teen with his shoulder before literally standing straight. "What's the matter with you?" the kid asked with a raised brow.

"Nothing. Just calm down." the older Jedi said quickly and nervously. "You calm down." the youngest teen replied before the door opened and three Twi'leks walked up to them. "It's been a long time, Father." Hera greeted the orange one formally.

"Ah. You must be the Jedi I've heard about." he said after turning his attention to Kanan. "Jarrus. Kanan Jarrus. I've... Heard a lot about you too, sir." he replied briefly clearing his throat mid sentence.

"This is the rest of our crew. Ezra, Sabine, Anakin and Zeb." he continued while gesturing to the other. Unfortunately his nervousness had not only led to him forgetting about Chopper but also gesturing to the wrong person as he introduced them.

The ex-merc felt a bit annoyed at being mistaken for the kid, though the amusement he got from the seeing the Jedi squirm definitely made up for it. "A fine group of fighters. Cham Syndulla at your service." the orange Twi'lek introduced with a small bow and smile.

"The Liberator of Ryloth. I studied your Clone War tactics at the Academy." Sabine said with a smile as he chuckled. "Yes. The Empire is still trying to figure out how to beat me. These are two of my finest warriors. Numa and Gobi." he replied before introducing the female Twi'lek first than the male.

"Well, we should get to the briefing. There's a lot to do." Hera said before turning around and making her way to the door she and the others had come through earlier.

* * *

"The Empire has a light carrier in orbit over Ryloth they use to bomb the Twi'lek rebels. The ship's well defended, but we can get aboard using the stolen bomber while the squadron is away. One team secures the hangar, the other storms the bridge. Then we jump out before they figure out what hit them." Hera explained as she and the others stood around the holotable that first projected a hologram of Ryloth before she changed it to one of the carrier and an Imperial light cruiser.

"No. This monstrosity has rained destruction and death on the citizens of Ryloth. It is not enough that it simply disappears. My people need to see it fall from the sky in flames, as a symbol of our strength. So I recommend a change in plans. Using my bomber, schematics and timetables, we can destroy the carrier when it's most vulnerable." Cham argued before his daughter leaned on the holotable with her hands.

"If you could have destroyed it, you would have done so already. You need us, and we need the carrier." she replied, not budging with her plan. After that little exchange it was clear things between father and daughter were tense.

"We need each other. Cham's intel, Hera's plan. This works, we all win." the older Jedi spoke up, noticing the tension and hoping to diffuse it. Cham exchanged looks with both his followers before crossing his arms.

"Very well. With Jedi on our side, how can we fail?" he replied. Anakin wasn't stupid, he knew those three were probably going try something stupid. _'I'm curious to see how this plays out.' _he thought while crossing his arms.

* * *

_Hyperspace, en route to Ryloth:_

As Hera flew the TIE bomber with the old Republic attack shuttle attached, the others were currently sitting in the ordinance bay of the bomber. "Master Windu spoke highly of your heroics at the Battle of Lessu." Kanan said to Cham.

"Ah. Mace Windu, hmm. Outnumbered 100 to one, we charged across Lessu's energy bridge to certain doom. We would not be stopped. They named that attack in songs, '_The Hammer of Ryloth._'" he replied with a smile.

"General Syndulla, I could listen to your stories all day." the older Jedi said before making his opening the door to the cockpit of the bomber and entering. "And I could tell them all day." the Twi'lek replied with a chuckle before Hera abruptly closed the door.

* * *

_Space, near Ryloth:_

As soon as they dropped out of hyperspace, Hera detached from the shuttle before flying towards the carrier. Anakin watched out of the corner of his eye as Cham stood up and made his way to the cockpit before Gobi came out and took the spot his leader had just been sitting in.

A few minutes passed before they heard their friend call out loud enough for them hear. "Hang on!" she warned as the bomber shook. "I hate it when she says that." Zeb griped before the TIE suddenly hit the ground, sending Sabine to the floor.

Once the bomber finally came to a complete stop, Anakin rubbed his sore neck before getting up and making his way past the other to help his girlfriend up. "Explosives?" she asked, sounding a bit surprised. Before she could say anything else, the two Twi'leks walked around them before aiming their blaster pistols at the _Ghost_ crew.

"Sorry, my friends." Ruma apologized as Anakin stood protectively in front of his friends. "Traitors!" his girlfriend accused with a glare before two shot stun blasts at them. Much to their surprise however, the ex-merc needed to be hit seven more times before he too finally went down.

"Cheeskar nok..." he groaned weakly before passing out.

* * *

_Space, Imperial light carrier:_

A few minutes later Ahsoka's son was awoken by his girlfriend shaking him. "Where did those sleemos go?" he asked groggily before standing up as she put her helmet on. "I don't know, but before we look we should check on the others." Sabine replied before she, her boyfriend, Ezra and Zeb made their way to the cockpit.

"Um, Hera, uh, our 'friends' have bags full of detonators." the younger Jedi informed her, his voice still a bit groggy. "Enough to blow up this carrier. We're scrubbing the mission, right?" the Mandalorian girl asked the older woman.

"No, we're finishing it. We'll stop my father, then we'll steal this ship." she replied. "Good. 'Cause I'm hoping for a chance to kick all three of their asses." the ex-merc said before she opened the top hatch and climbed out.

"We'll take the bridge. Sabine, you and Anakin check the munitions rack for those detonators." Kanan ordered before climbing out after her, Ezra right behind. "They blow those up, and this whole ship will go too. Everyone on Ryloth will be able to see that fireball." Anakin's girlfriend said before she started to climb out of the hatch.

"Pretty sure that's the idea, babe." he replied before climbing out after her.

* * *

The couple made their way over to the munitions before crouching down nearby once they saw Numa. "There's Numa. Get down!" she said. "I could try stunning her from here." he said, grabbing his DC-17m and taking aim after switching it to stun.

The ex-merc didn't even get a chance before she forced his blaster down. "You hit one proton bomb, and you'll touch off the whole magazine." she snapped. "All right! There's no need to get snappish. Jeez..." he trailed off, getting irritated by her before they were both taken off guard by a blaster bolt that hit their cover.

"You should've let me!" he snapped. "You'll get your chance." she shot back as Gobi joined Ruma in opening fire on them. Just as they were about to return fire, the lights in the hanger turned red as large blast door opened and a squadron of stormtroopers entered before opening fire on all of them.

"See? There's something you can shoot." she said before he started shooting at the troopers. "Whatever." he replied dismissively before dodging a bolt from one of them. After a few seconds of returning blaster fire, Sabine took aim at the door control before shooting and watching as the blast door started to close.

Right before the door shut, the ex-merc managed to kill both the one trooper that was about to get stuck on their side and one other trooper on the other side.

* * *

Since his girlfriend insisted they didn't hurt the Twi'leks, the teen had since holstered his blaster and started using his purple saber before the two had taken cover behind a crate.

"We don't have time for a standoff. Got any ideas?" he asked his girlfriend while keeping his attention on the crates. "Yeah. Catch me that droid." she replied while pointing to the small mouse droid rolling around to their left.

Keeping his focus on the crates, Anakin removed his left hand from his saber before holding it out towards the droid. The mouse droid was lifted off the ground almost immediately before floating over to the Mandalorian girl's waiting hands.

"Oh, man... Using the Force on something you can't sense or currently see is difficult." he commented before blinking a few times when his eyes started to hurt.

* * *

"_The fire in hangar bay three is out of control. Abandon ship. Get to the escape pods. I really mean it. This is the captain. Get to the escape pods. Abandon ship. The fire is out of control._" the captain's voice came over the carrier's comm before Anakin released a frustrated groan.

"Idiot. You don't get specific when it comes to Mind Tricking someone who going to relaying orders to other people! That just makes it suspicious." the ex-merc complained as his girlfriend continued working on the droid.

"It is Ezra you're taking about after all." she replied as he released another frustrated groan. "Tell me about." he said before his comm started beeping. "Yes?" he asked snarkily, clearly fed up with the day's events.

"_The bridge is secure. What's your status?_" the older man asked. "What do you _think_ it is? But Captain Mando has a plan. Sort of." he replied somewhat testily. "Yeah. Sort of a plan." she said before looking at him. "_Captain Mando_?" she asked, sounding annoyed before he let out a weary sigh.

"Yeah, sorry. It's been a long day." he apologized tiredly. "I'm sorry too." she replied softly before focusing back on the droid as she put it down. The Mandalorian girl then started pressing a few buttons on her right wrist computer before the droid took off.

The couple watched as the two Twi'leks attempted to shoot it while Sabine drove the little droid passed them and into one of the proton bombs before pressing a button and seeing it release an electrical that rendered both Twi'leks temporarily unconscious.

"Nice." the ex-merc complimented before they jogged over to the two. "Don't even think about it." he warned the female while pointing the tip of his saber at her face. "Sabine's plan worked." the teen informed Kanan over his comm. "Was there any doubt?" she asked after confiscating Gobi's blaster and placing her hands on her hips.

Anakin could practically see the smirk on her face as she asked that. "Maybe, maybe not. You'll never know." he teased before she strutted up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist from behind.

"Oh, really? Is there no way I can convince you...?" she whispered after resting her chin on his left shoulder and moving her hands down a bit. Before her boyfriend could continue their flirtatious banter, the older Jedi's annoyed voice came over his comm. "_Find Cham and hurry._" he ordered them before cutting off.

"I guess playtime's over." the ex-merc sighed, a bit disappointed before Sabine embraced him from the front this time. "Oh, it's not over yet... I have every intention of finishing what you started, mister..." she whispered sensually.

"Gods, woman. You're such a tease, you know that?" he growled playfully while wrapping his free arm around her waist and pulling her flush against him.

* * *

"Go on." Anakin ordered, gesturing to the female with his saber after Cham tried to contact her and Gobi. "Apologies, General Syndulla. We have been captured." she replied. A few minutes later Sabine opened a channel with the other so the two Twi'leks could hear.

"_I want freedom from the Empire as badly as you, but this battle can't be won on Ryloth alone. During the Clone War, you didn't just fight for a village, you rallied everyone to liberate the entire planet. You inspired me. __The Rebellion is no different. But either you couldn't see that or you didn't believe in me. And that's why I left._" Hera said to her father.

"_She's right. We have the ship. We just have to buy her enough time to get us out of here._" Ezra said to him. Gobi and Numa exchanged a look he stood up. "I am with you, Hera." he said before Numa stood up too. "I am also with you." she said before Anakin waved his hand, freeing both from their binders.

"_Well, Father?_" their friend asked. A brief moment of silence passed before they heard his reply. "_I guess you have your chance to prove me wrong._" he said before his daughter addressed them.

"_Everyone, get to the turrets._" she ordered. "We're on our way, Hera." the ex-merc's girlfriend replied before the four split up.

Anakin dropped into the turret's seat just as his friend's voice came over his open comm. "_Focus all fire on that shuttle. We can't let them retake the ship._" she said a shuttle and four TIEs neared the carrier.

"This is where the fun begins." Anakin said with a smirk before Kanan opened fire first, managing to destroy one. "_Four targets inbound!_" he warned. "_I'm on them!_" Sabine replied, opening fire on the fighters. "_They got past me!_" Numa warned after Gobi managed to destroy one.

"_I see 'em!_" Ezra replied as the ex-merc destroyed one that tried landing. "_Kanan, the shuttle!_" their Twi'lek friend warned as the shuttle neared the hanger. "Fry you sons-a-bitches..." Anakin growled before shooting the cockpit and watching as the shuttle exploded.

"_We're not in the clear yet._" Hera warned as the four bombers returned before each launched a torpedo at the carrier. "_Incoming torpedos!_" the older Jedi warned. "_Taking evasive action._" Hera said.

"_Two targets at 3.9!_" Sabine warned as she opened fire on two of the torpedos before managing to destroy one. "_Missed one!_" she warned as the second flew past her. "I got it." her boyfriend replied before opening fire and destroying it.

"_Lousy Imps!_" Zeb growled after a few torpedos hit the top of the carrier. Unfortunately a few seconds later, the carrier suddenly started to turn on it's left. "_Lost our stabilizer!_" Hera warned.

"_Come on!_" she grunted in effort as last two bombers were finally destroyed before managing to right the ship's position. Unfortunately their victory was short-lived as the Imperial light cruiser nearby started heading straight towards them. Roughly a minute passed before Ezra contacted the two other teens. "_Sabine, Anakin, meet me in the hanger._" he said.

* * *

After meeting him and Cham in the second-right hanger, the kid explained his plan before the Twi'lek and couple made their onto the catwalk above one of the unused bombers. "I've armed the explosives" Sabine said after they planted the detonators in the fighter.

"You actually think this ridiculous plan will work?" the Twi'lek asked, sounding skeptical. "Yeah. Kinda fun, isn't it?" she asked, smirking behind her helmet before she and the other two climbed out of the bomber.

Once they were out, the Mandalorian girl released it from the clamps before they watched as it floated down and started hovering above the ground near the young Jedi. "I set the anti-grav. Just give it a push." she said to him before he gave a thumbs up and turned his attention to the TIE.

"You wanted to blow something up. Here's your chance." she said to Cham after Ezra Force-pushed the bomber out of the hanger. The Twi'lek then made his way to one of the nearby turrets so he could shoot the bomber at the right moment.

Once Cham informed them of the cruiser's destruction, his daughter then activated repaired hyperdrive before making the jump.

* * *

_Light carrier, Phoenix Home:_

As a few A-wings flew into the carrier, the _Ghost _crew and Cham were currently standing outside his Republic attack shuttle "I'm getting reports from all over Ryloth. Our people are rallying against the Empire. Every hour, more join our ranks." he said.

"Glad to hear it, sir." Kanan replied before the Twi'lek turned to his daughter. "Daughter, may we speak?" he asked, getting a nod in return before the two walked away from the others.

"I believe we have something to finish." Sabine whispered to her boyfriend after the two Twi'leks left. The ex-merc smiled at her before she bit her lip and pulled him towards the _Ghost_.

**Chapter 24 done.**


	25. The Forgotten Droid

**Unfortunately I've decided to skip Shroud of Darkness since I was unable to think of a good enough vision to give Anakin.**

* * *

_Space, onboard _Phoenix Nest_:_

The rebels and Ketsu stood around a holomap Chopper projected before Hera spoke. "Thanks to Rex's Old Republic map and the map Zeb's Lasat friends made, I believe we finally have a suitable location for our base." she explained.

"The Yawst system. There's no sign of the Empire, but there's a small habitable moon, one that I think will provide everything you need." Ketsu explained as she pointed to one of the planets.

"Promising, but Yawst is several parsecs away, and our carrier does not have enough fuel to complete the journey." Sato replied. "We can't afford to leave it unguarded and immobile." Rex added.

"Well, Anakin and I have been tracking Imperial fuel shipments. There's one scheduled to arrive at the Horizon Base soon." Sabine spoke up. "Eh, it's risky. The Empire's tightened security at all its depots in the sector." Kanan said.

"If there's fuel there, what choice do we have?" his apprentice asked.

* * *

_Unknown planet, Horizon Base:_

Once Hera descended the _Ghost_ onto one of the landing platforms she and the rest of the Spectres exited the ship. "All right. After we grab the fuel, we'll have to blast our way out of here fast. Chopper, be ready." the older Jedi ordered as Sabine patted the droid on the head as she and her boyfriend passed him.

"You heard her. Stay at your post and get a 'leg' up on the Empire, yeah?" Ezra joked to the droid. "Yeah, 'Shopper'" the Lasat joked too with a chuckle.

* * *

"Kanan was right. There's more security than ever." the Mandalorian girl said quietly as they took cover behind a large crate. "We can't afford to leave without getting what we came for." the Twi'lek replied before the younger woman lowered her antenna and looked around the corner.

"There's the fuel." she said before putting the antenna back in it's original position. "Let's get it." Zeb said with a smirk and punching his fist into his other hand. "Okay, but we do it quietly this time. No complications." the older Jedi replied.

"How the Hell are we supposed to do that in broad daylight and with barely any cover around?" the ex-merc asked, clearly skeptical at the 'quiet' part. "I don't know. Think of something." replied, sounding a bit exasperated before running off.

The teen rolled his eyes as the others ran in different directions before following his girlfriend. Of course it wasn't long before things quickly went south. The group then retreated back to the ship with the fuel before taking off, unfortunately no one noticed Chopper wasn't with them.

* * *

_Hyperspace, en route to _Phoenix Home_:_

Roughly ten minutes later and after jumping to hyperspace, did they finally notice the droid wasn't with them.

"We have to go back for Chopper." Ezra insisted. "I warned him not to get distracted by that leg." Hera said. "You don't even know if that's what happened." he said in the droid's defense. "Oh, I know. I know that droid. He's always thinking about himself. But we have to think about the fleet first." she replied.

"Phoenix Home _to_ Ghost, _come in._" Sato said urgently over their comm before Hera pressed a button on the console. "We read you, Commander Sato. We're inbound with the fuel." she replied.

"_You must hurry. We are under attack._" he warned right before they dropped out of hyperspace nearby and saw a Star Destroyer, along with two light cruisers attacking them.

* * *

Anakin stayed in the cockpit with Kanan and Hera while the others left to their stations. "Looks like we're getting special attention!" the Jedi commented as a group of TIEs headed straight towards them while opening fire.

"_My guns are offline. My guns are offline!_" Sabine warned from the ship's roof turret before Anakin attempted to get them back online. The ex-merc sighed in relief as he sensed the pilot's death and Ketsu nearby before her voice was heard over the comm.

"Shadow Caster _to_ Ghost_. I'm on your wing._" she told them as he got the turret back online. "Copy that, Ketsu. Thanks." Hera replied with a smile. "You're good to go, babe." Ahsoka's son informed his girlfriend before seeing a few red blasts heading towards the remaining TIEs.

* * *

"Zeb, two incoming at point seven." Hera warned him as the _Ghost_ and _Shadow Caster_ flew overhead _Phoenix Nest_. "_They can get in line. There's more fighters than I can shoot!_" he exclaimed and sounding frustrated.

"Then there's no excuse for missing." Ezra said with a smirk while shooting at the fighters from the nose turret. "_Ghost_ to _Shadow Caster_, we need to land and refuel the carrier." the Twi'lek said to Ketsu.

"_I'll clear a path_." she replied before destroying another TIE. "_Thanks for the assist, Ketsu._" Sabine replied. "_You owe me one._" her friend said before flying away from them. "Everyone, get ready! We're coming in hot!" Hera warned as they neared the far-right hanger on the carrier.

Anakin gripped his seat right before the ship landed and slid across the hanger. "Zeb, Ezra, the fuel." she ordered after the ship stopped sliding. Right after the two delivered the fuel, Chopper's warbling suddenly came over the comm.

"C1-10P, where are you?" she asked, and judging by her use of his designation and tone of her voice, she was mad. "Really? So you didn't leave the Ghost to go after that leg?" she asked scoldingly after he warbled again.

"I'm gonna go check on Sabine." Anakin said quickly as he stood before fleeing the cockpit. The ex-merc had never admitted it out loud, but he was scared of angry women.

* * *

_Space, above Atollon:_

After bringing Chopper's friend to the common room, the couple started working on him and a few minutes later they managed to get droid reactivated. "What... What happened? Where am I?" the droid asked her in confusion.

"Don't worry. You're alive and well. My boyfriend and I replaced your damaged thermo sensors with the ones from the leg Chopper stole." she replied, giving him a reassuring smile before shooting a glare at the astromech who warbled.

"You sacrificed your replacement leg for me. Well, you shouldn't have. I knew you had a malfunctioning logic circuit." the protocol droid said before standing up and heading for the door as Chopper followed and warbled.

"That sort of language confirms it. You could be disintegrated in six systems for saying such things. I might just report you myself." the droid replied.

The others just watched in bemusement as the two continued bickering on their way to the cockpit. "Why do I get the feeling we've picked up another pathetic life form?" the ex-merc wondered aloud.

**Chapter 25 done. Apologies again for skipping Shroud of Darkness, it's just that I didn't want to write some half-assed vision for Anakin to have.**


	26. The Mystery of Chopper Base

_Space, en route to Atollon:_

The couple watched the Jedi training from the small balcony in the cargo hold before Hera descended the ladder, joining the two older teens. "Keep your blade up. It's easier to drop it than it is to raise it." Kanan instructed as they clashed sabers.

After breaking a saberlock, he Force-pushed his Padawan to the wall before attempting to slash the spot his head was at. The youngest teen dodged to the side before extinguishing his blade then trying to shoot his master. "You know, that's my move." he said that while effortlessly blocking them before deflecting the last one towards the kid.

"I steal from the best." he replied with a smirk after blocking the shot. The two started at each other for a few seconds before Ezra charged him. The older man jumped over the kid before the teen slid along the ground.

Just as he landed, his Padawan ran up the wall before backflipping over his master as the older man turned around with a swing of his saber. Immediately after landing, the teen turned around before holding the saber at Kanan's neck.

"Gotcha!" he said with smirk, unaware of the saber pointed at his stomach. "And I got you." the older Jedi replied before Ezra looked down to see the saber. "Tied again!" the kid complained as he and Kanan extinguished their blades.

"Tied again? There's no such thing as a "tie." You lose, you die." the older man said sternly with a frown. "Yeah, and you win by killing an Inquisitor." the kid argued. "No. You win by surviving." he replied.

"You two are getting pretty good." Sabine said. "Getting? Are you saying we weren't good before?" he asked, sounding annoyed while glaring and placing his hands on his hips. "I think she just meant you're even better now." Hera said, trying to reassure him before he exhaled.

"I'll take it." he replied before being forced to block a sudden attack from Kanan. "Hey!" he protested at the sudden attack. "You never turn your back on an enemy." his master warned before breaking the saberlock and relaxing his stance.

"Okay. But since when are you my enemy?" the youngest teen questioned before Kanan sighed. "Let's go again." he replied before they started sparring again.

* * *

_Atollon, rebel base:_

After Hera landed the ship, she and the others minus Chopper, made their way towards the command center. "The site doesn't look like much, I'll admit. The good news is our scouts found a fresh water source deep underground." Rex explained.

"We're placing sensor markers around the perimeter. We'll know if anyone drops by unannounced." Sabine informed the others before they heard chirping and saw one of the planet's native wildlife on the crate behind Zeb.

"Hey! Get away from that! How I hate those little bogens." he grumbled after shooing it away. "This planet may be hot, dry, and unpleasant. But at least there's nothing trying to kill us." the clone said with a smile and while crossing his arms.

* * *

"All sensors on the Eastern face are in place." a pilot informed the couple and clone before they turned to face him. "Good. Have all the pilots checked in?" Sabine asked. "Lieutenant Dicer hasn't come back yet." he replied.

The two teens then turned to the console behind them before Anakin attempted to contact Dicer. "Phoenix-6, report. Dicer, do you copy?" he asked, only to get static in return before he and his girlfriend shared a worried look.

"She was on the North face. We'd better go check on her." the Mandalorian girl said as Hera and Kanan walked up to the back of the console. "Take the _Phantom_." she suggested, getting a nod from her before she, her boyfriend and Rex made their way out of the command center.

* * *

_Atollon, somewhere in Northern perimeter:_

After landing near the A-wing, the three exited the shuttle before Sabine tried contacting the pilot. "Spectre-5 to Phoenix-6, where are you? Dicer, come in." the ex-merc's girlfriend ordered over her comlink before they heard chirping coming from under the helmet on the ground.

Rex picked it up and one of those little creatures from earlier looked at him before running off. "Looks like whatever happened, happened right after she placed that sensor." he said while walking over to the couple with the helmet.

Sabine crossed her arms as a worried look made it's way onto her face before her boyfriend started looking around rapidly. "What is it, kid?" his godfather asked. "Something's here. Something hostile." he warned before the 'boulder' behind them started to stand up.

The creature hissed at them before the the three opened fire on it while retreating back towards the shuttle and ship. "More incoming!" she warned as two more appeared behind before turning to shoot them.

"Get to the shuttle." Rex ordered the teens before they headed for it. The couple was forced to stop as one of the creatures suddenly appeared on top the _Phantom _before they tried killing it.

The two quickly retreated back a few feet as it jumped off the shuttle before Rex finally managed to kill one. "This is Spectre-5. We're under attack! We need backup-!" the Mandalorian girl started to say over her wrist com before one of the creatures suddenly bashed into her.

The ex-merc's girlfriend grunted in pain as she was launched into a small dune. "Sabine!" he exclaimed in concern before turning to glare hatefully at the creature who attacked her.

Tapping into the Dark Side and letting it guide him, the son of Ahsoka and Revan raised his left hand with fingers outstretched before a burst of lightning shot out towards the creature.

The creature wailed in pain as it was being electrocuted before it's cries got louder as the teen increased the voltage. Since he was so distracted by getting revenge on it, the ex-merc didn't even see Rex getting swarmed until he heard the clone yelling.

"Get off me, you lousy crawler!" he demanded as the creature started carrying him away. "Rex!" the couple exclaimed in horror as the male teen stopped his attack on the other creature now that it was reduced to ash.

Before he could even think about saving the older man, the last two remaining creature charged towards him. The ex-merc quickly turned around before making his way over to Sabine.

After helping her up they turned their attention back to the creature before opening fire again. A few seconds passed before his girlfriend managed to kill one by shooting it in one of the eyes.

Unfortunately all this noise seemed to attract another one and the teen were forced to retreat towards the beacon Dicer had planted earlier. Just as the two remaining creatures got near the couple and beacon, they suddenly started screeching in what appeared to be pain before backing away a few feet.

"What are you waiting for? Come on!" she taunted before the Ghost appeared behind them, ramp down with Zeb and Kanan providing covering fire. The creatures seemed to realize they were outnumbered before retreating as the ship circled around then descended.

"I hate multi-leggers." the Lasat growled in disgust as he and the others walked down the ramp. "Where's Rex?" the younger Jedi asked. "Those creatures took him. I think they got Dicer too." Sabine replied as she and Anakin holstered their blasters.

"Chopper, locate Rex's position!" Hera ordered before the droid warbled and did as ordered. A few seconds passed before he warbled again. "He says this way." the Mandalorian girl said before taking off towards the cave nearby, Anakin and the two Jedi following behind.

* * *

"Stay sharp and stick together." Kanan ordered, using his lightsaber to illuminate the cave as they made their way in. "They have tough armor. Aim for the eyes." Sabine told them as she and Hera turned flashlights on.

Ezra coughed a bit from the kicked up dirt in the cave as he ignited his blade at the same time Zeb turned his flashlight on. Anakin meanwhile stuck to the Force to guide him. After a few minutes of walking they stopped as the older Jedi grunted in frustration.

"We need to split up." he said quietly while turning to face the others. "Ezra go with Hera." he said to his apprentice. "No. Ezra, stay with Kanan. Zeb, with me. Sabine, Anakin. You two together." the Twi'lek ordered. Kanan nodded before addressing his Padawan. "Let's go." he said before they headed down one tunnel.

"Shouldn't we have someone who can use the Force on each team?" Zeb asked Hera. "We've gotta get used to not having them around." she replied before they and the teens slit up.

* * *

As the couple made their way down the tunnel, Anakin ignited his green blade to give them extra light. "Are you alright?" Sabine asked her boyfriend softly after noticing the look of guilt on his face.

"No. No I'm not alright. If hadn't been so focused on making that thing pay for hurting you, I could've prevented the other one from taking him." he replied, angry at himself. The Mandalorian girl stopped him before cupping his face with one hand and turning his head to face her.

"It's not your fault." she said gently before continuing as the look of guilt on his face hadn't disappeared yet. "I don't blame you, okay? And I know Rex won't either." she said before giving him a gentle kiss.

"Again, it's not your fault. You're not all-powerful after all." she added after pulling away. Unfortunately those words seemed to turn his guilt into anger before he started pacing.

"That's just the problem. I should be! I'm descended from one of the strongest Force-wielders who ever lived, yet so far I've been unable to keep not only you safe, but now Rex too!" he snapped before rubbing his face with his mechanical hand.

"It's all my mom's fault! If she hadn't kept stopping my dad from teaching me more Dark Side abilities other than Force Choke, I could've prevented you from getting hurt all those times! She's always holding me back!" he snarled before throwing the saber away in anger.

Sabine watched in concern as he started calming down while releasing a shaky sigh. The Mandalorian girl walked over to him before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a comforting hug.

"Feeling better now?" she asked with a gentle smile after pulling away. "Much. I don't really blame my mom, she was just being what she is: a loving and caring mother." he replied with a small smile. "I guess I had a lot of pent-up aggression that needed to be let out." he added while looking into his girlfriend's eyes with a thoughtful expression.

The ex-merc's eyes widened when her smile changed into a smirk and she gave him half-lidded bedroom eyes. "Oh, that's too bad... I was hoping you had some more pent-up aggression that needed to be released..." she whispered teasingly while pressing flush against him.

Anakin swallowed thickly after hearing those words. "Well, I might have some pent-up aggression that still needs to be released." he teased back while wrapping his arms around her waist.

Just as the couple were about to kiss again, Hera's voice over Sabine's wrist comm broke them out of their moment. "_Guys, we found Rex._" she said before Anakin sighed in relief. "_Good work! We're coming to ya!_" Kanan replied before the couple heard screeching on the comm.

"_Actually, I think it's time to go._" the Twi'lek said, worry creeping into her tone. The teens shared a worried look before screeching was heard around them. "I think we should do as she says." Anakin said as they slowly backed towards the way they'd came before summoning his saber.

"Good idea." his girlfriend replied before they both turned and bolted for the exit.

* * *

The couple soon ran into Zeb, Hera and Rex just as the two Jedi joined them. "Glad you could drop in." the Twi'lek remarked after Kanan stabbed one of the creatures in the head. "I wouldn't stand there if I were you. Come on, we'll clear a path." Ezra said before he and the older Jedi ran in the direction the other three had just come from.

Anakin handed his DC-17m to Rex before igniting his green blade and helping the Jedi clear the tunnel of those creatures. With the three saber-wielders cutting down the creatures whenever they tried to block the path, it wasn't long before they reached the exit.

The group ran as fast as they could away from the cave and towards the ship. "Chopper, open up! Chopper!" Hera ordered urgently as the creatures chased after them. Once the ramp lowered, everyone quickly ran into the ship.

"This whole place is infested!" Zeb growled before the ramp closed.

* * *

The two Jedi and Lasat headed for the guns after the creatures had webbed the ship to the ground. "_Hungry, are ya? Well, eat this!_" Zeb growled. "_They're all over us!_" Kanan warned before the one he was shooting landed on the cockpit's viewport.

"Route auxiliary power to the hull. That should knock 'em off." Hera said to the couple as the two pressed buttons on both side consoles. "_It's not working. Hit 'em again!_" the older Jedi exclaimed a few seconds after they finally routed auxiliary power.

"No. If we drain too much power we won't be able to lift off." the Twi'lek replied. "I hate to break it to you, but we're not goin' anywhere." the Mandalorian girl pointed out before Ezra popped his head up from the ladder.

"We have to go outside and cut the ship free." he said. "_Fat chance of surviving that._" Zeb replied.

"Oh, that's great, Zeb. I'm gonna get eaten, the last Jedi in the galaxy, chomped up by some crawlers because you were too afraid to go outside." the kid said, sounding annoyed before said Lasat and his master entered the cockpit as the latter grunted in frustration.

"We're missing something. Why didn't these things attack us before?" he asked while sounding frustrated. "You're right. They could've overrun the base, they didn't come near it." Hera replied before holding her chin in thought as the ex-merc's eyes widened in realization.

"Sabine, the sensor marker!" he said as her eyes widened too. "You're right! Kanan, we know why they didn't attack the base... Look! See that marker? When we were looking for Dicer out there, the creatures wouldn't come anywhere close." she replied to her boyfriend before explaining to the older man while pointing to the beacon outside.

"They don't like the markers. And the base is surrounded by them!" he realized as they all looked out the viewport. "If we can get it, we can use it to hold them off while we clear the ship." the Twi'lek said.

"Only problem is, how do we get to it?" the ex-merc's girlfriend asked before Rex called out to them from behind. "We got a breach! They're coming in the airlock!" the clone warned before he and Zeb ran towards the airlock. "I'll hold 'em here. Get out and cut the ship loose!" Rex said as the others heard screeching coming from that direction.

"We need a plan to get to the sensor." Anakin said. "Well, I think I have an idea." Ezra said as he turned to face them. "Figure it out on the way." Hera replied before she and the others, minus Chopper and Rex, made their way to the cargo hold.

After lowering the ramp, the group opened fire on the creatures. "Okay, kid, quick! What's the plan?" Zeb asked as he kept shooting. "All right. Zeb, you, Anakin and Hera, out front laying cover fire. Sabine, you're on the ramp. Kanan, you're with me." he explained.

"What am I doing on the ramp?" the Mandalorian girl asked, sounding confused while the other's took their positions. "Kanan and I are gonna throw you over to the sensor." he replied while firing off a few more shots.

"Wait, what?!" Anakin asked in surprise after skewering one of the creatures. "Just trust me!" the kid replied. "Times like these, I really wish I had a jet-pack." she said with a worried tone.

* * *

"Ready?" Kanan asked after a seconds passed. "Yeah." she replied before the two turned to the side. "One... Two... Three!" the three said together as Sabine ran forward before the two Jedi launched her over the creatures.

Anakin's expression turned to horror as she accidentally passed the beacon and instead kept heading towards the cliff. "Sabine!" he cried in horror after she disappeared over the side.

Both Jedi slowly backed up as they felt the anger rolling off him in waves. "You're _extremely_ lucky she isn't dead, brat, because if she was then you would be dead too." he hissed before Force-jumping over to the cliff. Ezra shuttered in fear after the older teen left.

After landing, he looked over the side and sighed in relief after seeing she was unharmed. The ex-merc pulled her up after he offered his hand before the two turned their attention back to the beacon and creatures.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed in surprise as a creature suddenly appeared behind them. "Get the beacon!" he ordered before igniting his purple blade and swinging it at the creature. Once it backed off, he quickly sprinted over to his girlfriend before they both grabbed the beacon and held it towards the creature.

Anakin reignited his blade and stuck close to the Mandalorian girl who was carrying the beacon before the two carefully made their way past the creatures and towards the ship. "Hera, get us ready to fly." Kanan said before she headed back into the ship while he and the three teens made their way towards the webbing.

"Let's get to work." he said to the two male teens before igniting his blade. As soon as the younger Jedi ignited his, the three Force-wielders started to cut the webbing while Sabine kept the creatures at bay.

"We're clear." Ahsoka's son said after cutting the last web. "Get us out of here." the older Jedi said to Hera over his comm before he and the teens made a break for the ramp. The four climbed onto the ramp while Zeb helped cover them before the ship started to take off.

"Guess we should inform Commander Sato our site... might not work out." Rex suggested, once everyone was now in the cockpit. "No. It took everything we had just to find this place. I'm not ready to give it up." Hera said firmly before Kanan walked up to her and sat down in the co-pilot chair.

"We're not going to. The Rebellion needs this base and we're gonna do whatever it takes to keep it." Kanan said as he crossed his arms. "Don't worry. I'll handle it." she replied before getting out of her chair and leaving the cockpit.

Sabine watched as she left before snuggling back into her boyfriend's embrace and sighing in content as he gave her neck a soft kiss.

* * *

_Atollon, the next morning:_

Anakin stretched and yawned as he Kanan and Sabine watched the rebels finish setting up beacons as a makeshift fence. "I think your fence is gonna hold." the older man said her, arms crossed and with a small smile.

"You'd better go talk to Hera." she replied, her tone and expression one of concern before the three looked to see said woman walking towards the _Endar Spire_. _'That ship still gives me a weird vibe.'_

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, sounding confused before the Mandalorian girl held placed a hand on her head in exasperation. "Kanan, wake up! She might agree with your mission, but you're still walking out... and taking Ezra with you." she replied before the older Jedi left them to go talk to the Twi'lek.

As the couple watched the two talk, the ex-merc soon noticed his mom out of the corner of his eye. "I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go talk to my mom." he said to the Mandalorian girl, getting a smile and nod in return before he left.

Ahsoka stopped when she saw him approaching and was a bit surprised when he suddenly hugged her. The Togruta instantly returned his embrace. "I love you, mom." he said before pulling away to look at her.

"And I know I've already apologized for this, but once again I'm sorry for leaving you so abruptly. I shouldn't have done that, I was wrong and immature. Instead I should've talked to, tried to work things out. Find common ground." he said softly before she stood on her toes to kiss him on the forehead.

"I know... And you were not being immature, you were only twelve after all." she replied, giving him a reassuring smile before pulling him into another hug. "You're my son and I love you. I promise that will never change..." she whispered as mother and son continued to hug in the sunrise...

**Chapter 26 is finally done and the season 2 finale is up next. Who will live...? Who will die...? Twilight of the Apprentice will have your answers.**


	27. Twilight of the Apprentice

**Here it is, the season 2 finale. Unlike with the previous chapters focusing on Anakin, this one will instead focus on a different OC.**

* * *

_Atollon, rebel base:_

Anakin, Sabine, Hera, Zeb and Rex all watched as Ahsoka, Kanan and Ezra were about to board the _Phantom_. _'I should be going with them...' _"Everything will be all right, Ani." his mom assured after walking up to him and giving him a hug. "I know... It's just..." he trailed off with a sigh.

Before she could say anything else the saw a rebel soldier running over to them. "There's a ship inbound. Scans have identified it as Commander Revan's!" he informed them. Mother and son shared a smile before rushing back to the base with everyone else confused, but following behind.

The group made it to the landing pad outside the base before seeing a ship heading towards them. The ex-merc waited anxiously as the orange, white and blue Eta-2 Jedi starfighter made it way to the platform before turning and descending to the ground.

Once it was powered down a white and pink astromech popped out of the droid place on the fighter before cockpit opened. The group then watched as a man wearing a brown baggy shirt with a hood attached, black pants, white Phase-II clone armor boots, a single Phase-II clone armor gauntlet for one arm and a black shiny covering for his other arm, climb out of the fighter.

"Oh, man. Ten hours in that thing is killer on the ass." he said before the droid beeped. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." he griped before turning around to face the group. Sabine's eyes widened when she saw the mask he was wearing before the man and droid made their way towards them.

Ahsoka met him halfway before taking his mask off and giving him a deep passionate kiss, much to her son's embarrassment. Once they pulled away from each other, the two turned towards him as he jogged forward before hugging the older man.

"I missed you..." he murmured. "I missed you guys, too..." the man replied before turning his attention to the others. "Now. I only recognize one of these people." he said, exchanging a smile with Rex before turning his attention back to the others.

"But others I don't, so... names." he said. After a nod from Anakin, the older Jedi stepped up first. "Kanan Jarrus." he introduced while holding his hand out. The man merely looked at it for a sec before Kanan pulled his hand away.

"I suggest not lying to me again." he warned. "Caleb Dume, sir." he said after a brief moment. "That's more like it." the man said with a smile before offering his hand, Kanan mentally sighed in relief before shaking it.

The man moved to Hera next. "Hera Syndulla." she introduced while holding her hand out and smiling. The man took it before shaking. "Syndulla... Any relation to a Cham?" he asked before getting a nod in return.

"I never met him, but my master did and he told me about the battle." he replied, earning surprised looks from her and Kanan before he moved onto Chopper. "An old C1 droid? Man you guys are _old_." he remarked with a grin before the droid warbled at him.

"Nice try, pal but if you're trying to insult me, you're going to have to try a lot harder than that." he replied before moving on to Zeb next.

"Garazeb Orrelios." he introduced. "A Lasat? Hmm. I knew a Lasat, Jaro Tapal. One of the few Jedi in the Order who approved of me joining. Good man, I hope he survived." the man replied, earning surprised looks again before moving on to Sabine.

The man's eyes widened as he looked at her and just as she was about to introduce herself, the man beat her to it. "Sabine Wren." he whispered with a smile. "How do you...?" she trailed off, clearly surprised. A sentiment shared by the others.

"Your mom and I are friends. We met when you were about two years old on the planet Carlac, I actually fed you some soup and bounced you on my knee." he said with a smile and while noticing his wife's face light up in realization. "My wife and I also happen to be your godparents." he added, earning a shocked look from the girl.

"Wait, so I'm dating my godsister? Should I feel weirded out?" his son asked, sounding a little concerned. "Wait. You two are dating. Yes! You're mom owes me 50 credits." he said with a smirk and fist-pump to the girl before moving on to Ezra.

"Ezra Bridger, sir." he introduced. "Not really much to your history, is there? At least not right now." he said while crossing his arms."Not really, no." the kid replied before the man hummed to himself before walking up to Rex with a smile. "Captain." he greeted with a salute. "General." the clone replied, mirroring his smile and salute. The two men finished their salutes before hugging briefly.

"You got old." the clone joked. "Had to happen sometime, Rex." he replied before giving his friend and wife a curious look when they chuckled. "I guess I forgot to introduce myself. You may call me Revan. Oh! And this is R2-KT, or 'Katie' for short." he said to son's friends while gesturing to the droid and turning back to face them.

"Now. Judging by the shuttle I saw sitting on ground down there, I'd say you were about to head off to a mission." he said. "We were about to head to Malachor, there's something there that will help us destroy the Sith." Ezra replied as a shocked expression crossed the ex-Knight's face.

"Malachor? Why would the Hell would anyone go there? Even if there was something there to help you, it's still crazy." he replied, sounding surprised. "Master Yoda told him that's where we would find answers." he wife spoke up.

"Well I guess if you're going to listen to anyone, It'd be Master Yoda." he replied while holding his chin in thought. "All right then, let's go. But, after we've done a little catching up first." he added with a smile.

True to his word, the former Knight spent a few hours catching up with with family and getting to know the others. He even briefly sparred with the two Jedi and of course spent some uh... 'quality time' with his wife before the group made their way back to the _Phantom_.

"You guys are gonna need me on this one." Anakin said to his parents as he walked beside them to the shuttle. "Oh, I agree. Though it could turn out to just be a wild bantha chase." his dad replied before they stopped in front of the shuttle.

"I feel like I've disappointed you. I have not been very appreciative of you're parenting... I have been arrogant and I apologize. I've just been so frustrated the last few years." he replied while standing in the shade from the coral.

His parents gave him reassuring smiles before his dad placed his hands on the teen's arms, just below the shoulders.

"You are strong and wise, Anakin, and we are very proud of you. We've raised you since you were a baby and have taught you everything we know. And you have become a far greater man than we could've hoped for." his dad replied while his mother nodded in agreement.

The older couple then turned and walked towards the shuttle before turning back around when their son spoke again. "Guys. May the Force be with you." he said while crossing his arms. "Goodbye son, may the Force be with you." his dad replied before the two entered the shuttle and the door closed.

Anakin watched as it took off from the ground and headed for the atmosphere before disappearing from sight.

* * *

_Hyperspace en route to Malachor:_

"Once we drop out of hyperspace, we'll be going dark." Ahsoka said to Rex after he contacted her. "_Are you sure about this?_" he asked after crossing his arms. "Yes." she replied.

"_You two don't have to go to Malachor alone. I could be there in two rotations._" he said to his old friends. "We're not alone, Rex." she reminded with a small smile. "_You know, I could have ordered you to take me along._" he replied mirroring her smile.

"You don't exactly outrank me anymore." she teased as he placed his hand on his hips. "_In my book, experience outranks everything._" he replied. "Hmm, then I definitely outrank you." Ahsoka said with smile, her husband smiled too upon remembering his wife telling him about her and the clone's first conversation.

"_May the Force be with you._" the clone replied, his expression changing to one of worry before ending the transmission. Ahsoka then stood up from the bench she and Revan were sitting on before walking up to the two Jedi.

"Why is Rex so worried? Uh, what does he know that I don't?" Ezra asked her. "Malachor has always been off-limits to Jedi." Kanan replied. "Why?" his apprentice asked before the older man sighed wearily. "Old legends. Stories told to us as younglings in the temple." he replied.

"There's always a bit of truth in legends." Revan's wife said. "If Malachor is off limits, why would Master Yoda send us here?" the kid wondered before Kanan pulled the shuttle out of hyperspace.

"I don't know, but I trust Master Yoda. There's something here for us." he replied."Yeah, something to help us stop the Inquisitors." Ezra said. "Knowledge." the other man's wife interjected as Kanan piloted the shuttle towards the planet.

Just as they entered the atmosphere Chopper warbled through the shuttle comm about a ship. "A ship? What type?" the younger Jedi asked before droid warbled. "He can't track it." Revan said after joining them upfront and crossing his arms.

"Track it, let's see who else is interested in this place." Kanan ordered the droid as piloted the shuttle through the clouds. A few seconds later they saw a massive crater with a stonehenge of towering monoliths in it.

"Whoa, look, up ahead. What is that?" the kid wondered in awe. "I don't know, but the ship we're tracking went there. I'm gonna set her down." his master replied before landing the shuttle outside the circle of monoliths.

* * *

_Malachor, Sith temple:_

"I don't see any ship." Ezra said after they exited the shuttle. "Gotta be around here somewhere." the Togruta's husband replied. "Chopper, try to get a fix on its location." the other man ordered, getting a warble in return before the four walked up to one of the monoliths.

"What are these things?" the kid asked in awe. "This writing... It's in the old tongue." Ahsoka replied while moving her hand over the writing. "Can you read it?" her husband asked before she sighed and lowered to one knee.

"I can try. It's a very old form, I can only make out a few words." she replied before reading it out loud in an alien language. As she spoke, the ex-Knight noticed the younger Jedi about to touch the monolith.

"Don't touch that!" he warned while attempting to stop him. Unfortunately it was too late as a red glowing handprint appeared where he touched it before red glowing lines moved down the monolith and onto the ground where they were standing.

All four yelled as the ground broke and they were sent falling down towards the bottom below. As they reached the ground, the couple used the Force to cushion themselves as they landed and rolled a few feet. The Jedi weren't as fortunate as they had to pick themselves up off the ground before joining the other two.

"What is that?" the kid asked as they looked at the temple. "A Sith temple." Ahsoka replied before they headed towards the temple. As they walked Revan was glad his mask kept him from inhaling dust, the last thing he wanted was some old dusty ash getting into his lungs.

The four stopped a few seconds later when Chopper contacted the two Jedi. "Oh, we might fall through the surface? Thanks for the warning, Chop." the kid thanked sarcastically over his wrist comm. "Any fix on that ship yet?" Kanan asked over his comlink before the droid warbled affirmatively.

"He's picked up the trail. This way." the older Jedi said before they continued to walk towards the temple. "I bet whatever we're looking for is inside that Temple." Ezra said before the ex-Knight rolled his eyes.

"Nah, really? What gave it away?" he asked sarcastically, earning a glare from the young Jedi and a smirk from his wife. "Just remember, if there's a ship, we're not alone down here." Kanan reminded.

"Ahsoka, you said we're here to find knowledge. What kind of knowledge?" the kid asked her. "The forbidden kind. To defeat your enemy, you have to understand them." she replied.

"No better place to learn about the Sith, I guess." Kanan said before they continued towards the temple. After about a minute of walking, the group stumbled upon a scorched battlefield filled with the statue-like remains of the combatants.

"The ground looks scorched..." the younger Jedi trailed off quietly before noticing two crossguard lightsabers on the ground. "Whoa, Kanan! Look, a lightsaber. And another." he said in awe before grabbing and activating the first saber. The main blade came out first followed by the vents before suddenly shorting out and turning off.

Revan looked down at his two crossguard sabers in thought. _'I wonder mine are as old as these ones.' _"This was a battlefield." Kanan said after looking at one of the statues. "I wonder what happened here." Ahsoka's husband said as he looked around.

"It looks like at one time, thousands of years ago, Jedi attacked the temple." his wife replied. "And the Jedi won, right?" Ezra asked. "From what I can tell, nobody won." she replied grimly before Kanan spoke. "I hate to break up this history lesson, but we should keep moving." he said before they started walking again.

"Well, if you ask me, this whole planet is a riddle." the teen said as they walked. "So if it's a riddle, what's the question?" his master inquired to him as they stopped again. The younger Jedi grinned before replying.

"Why is Kanan such a-" he started before Revan suddenly tackled them to the ground. "Get down!" he warned before igniting his lava blade and blocking one end of a red double-bladed lightsaber.

Revan pushed their assailant back at the same time he and the Jedi stood back up. "Four Jedi?" the man asked in surprise as the other three ignited their blades. The ex-Knight felt his temple throb in annoyance. "Oh, for the love of-! I am _not _a Jedi, you stupid fuck!" he snarled while activating his permafrost blade in his other hand.

"Revan!" the man realized while backing away in fear. Said man smirked behind his mask while spinning his sabers once. "Scared? You should be. My son told me about how he cut off your fellow Inquisitor's hands. However I will do a lot worse." he snarled before the man tossed detonators at them.

"Look out!" his wife warned before the explosives went off in front of them. While the three adults managed to back away in time, the kid wasn't so lucky and ended up falling through the new hole the bombs made.

"Ezra!" the older Jedi exclaimed in worry before the three ran up to the hole. "Ezra, can you hear me?" he asked in concern after they looked inside to see the kid laying on the ground.

"I'm okay." he assured with a groan of pain. "He's getting away, let's go!" Ahsoka said before she and her husband took off towards the Inquisitor, Kanan following a few seconds later.

* * *

"I've never had an Inquisitor run from me before." Kanan commented as the three continued chasing the Darksider. "Maybe it's because he's outnumbered." Ahsoka remarked. "He did seem surprised. I don't think he was looking for us." Revan said.

"Then who was he tracking?" his wife questioned as the three extinguished their blades upon stopping at a gorge. Kanan hummed quietly before Chopper's voice warbled over his comm. "You found the ship? Where?" he asked before the droid warbled again.

"No, no. Forget it, no time! Get over there and find that ship. Do not let him take off! We'll follow your signal." he replied before they ignited their blades again and found a way across. "No, disobeying me is gonna be dangerous. Now get going!" he ordered before Chopper warbled again. "Should've brought Katie instead." the ex-Knight grumbled.

* * *

The three finally caught up to their enemy just in time to save Chopper, who was now inside the Inquisitor's TIE. The Four Force-sensitives took defensive stances as they waited for their opponent or in the other's case, opponents, to make the first move.

Before anyone could do anything, the droid suddenly started up the fighter, getting everyones attention before opening fire on the Darksider and forcing him back. After afew seconds, the droid managed to knock him down and send his saber a few feet away.

The three adults quickly made their way over to him before Ahsoka stepped on the hilt just as he grabbed it. The Inquisitor looked at them before bowing his head in defeat as the two Lightsider males pointed their blades at him.

"Chopper, sometimes you do it right." the Jedi said with a smirk before getting a warble from the droid.

* * *

After putting binders on the Darksider, Chopper left the TIE before rolling over to them. "You're the fourth Inquisitor we've seen. How many are there?" Kanan interrogated. "More than enough for the three of you." he replied arrogantly before scoffing then looking at Ahsoka. "Nothing can save you." he said darkly.

"Why are you on Malachor?" her husband demanded. "Hunting." he replied curtly. "But you were not expecting us. Who are you after?" she asked before he chuckled darkly. "A shadow." he replied with an air of arrogance. Revan felt his ire build and was about to backhand their prisoner before Ahsoka moved in front and gently stopped him.

"Easy, love... Don't let the him get to you." she said softly as he calmed down before nodding.

* * *

A few minutes later the area started to shake a bit as before the five turned their attention to the temple as the top of it started to move and glow. "And here I thought both Anakins had a knack for getting in deep shit." Revan commented. "We need to find Ezra." Ahsoka said before Kanan addressed Chopper.

"Get back to the _Phantom_ and get ready to leave." he ordered. The droid warbled and saluted before activating his rocket and taking off. "Come on, let's take a walk." the Togruta said to the Inquisitor, hauling him up by one arm before her husband shoved him forward.

Revan occasionally shoved him as they headed around the temple, searching for a way up to the top.

* * *

The four kept moving for a bit before stopping and looking up towards the temple as loud shifting noises were heard from it. "That kid's always getting in trouble like this." Kanan grumbled before the four kept moving.

A few minutes later they made it to a closed door. "He's inside, I know it. But there's no way he lifted that door." the older Jedi said. "Not without help." Revan's wife added before the Darksider chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Kanan demanded before Chopper's warbles came over his comm. "What do you mean we've got company?" he asked the droid before the Inquisitor started laughing darkly.

"The fuck you laughing for?" the ex-Knight growled before they heard the sounds of sabers getting close. The three turned around to see two more Inquisitors using their lightsaber to fly towards them. _'Are they using their sabers to fly? That's like the stupidest thing ever!'_

The two Inquisitors landed a few feet in front of them after the three re-ignited their blades. The second male Inquisitor attacked Revan while the woman moved over to the first before freeing him. The first male summoned his saber from Ahsoka's belt after she helped he husband push the second one back.

"An excellent day's hunt." the woman said with an arrogant tone before the second forced the three Lightsider to back away. "I'll take Metal Hands, you two decide which one you want." Revan said before engaging the second Darksider.

"Revan! You will pay for the sins of your son!" he snarled before blocking both of his opponent's lightsabers. "That's right. My son, a fifteen, almost sixteen-year old teenager managed to not only defeat, but literally disarm an older, more trained swordsman." he taunted while mockingly pretending to remember.

The Inquisitor attacked him furiously after the taunt and himself surprised as the man blocked and dodged with ease.

"Did Vader never warn you about me? Ah, I see. He did, but in your arrogance you decided not to heed him. A grave mistake." the ex-Knight growled before going for an uppercut that nearly knocked the saber out of enemy's hand then following it with another that sliced his opponent's left eye.

* * *

Despite the loss of his eye, the man just kept attacking while Ahsoka and Kanan continued to duel the other two. "Ezra?" the ex-Knight heard the older Jedi exclaim in surprise before pushing his one-eyed opponent away to look at the kid.

"Guys! I brought help." he replied before everyone else turned to face Ezra's new ally. Revan and Ahsoka's eyes widened as they recognized the man. "Maul." she said, sounding surprised. Despite the fact that he tried to kill them then left them on a crashing Star Destroyer, the ex-Knight couldn't find any reason to genuinely hate the Zabrak.

"The Shadow." the first Inquisitor said. "What fun." the ex-Sith said with a dark smirk before laughing. "What fun!" he added as his smirk turned into a grin.

"So, the rumors are true, Darth Maul lives." the female said as her faceplate retracted. _'Barris?! I can't be...' _Ahsoka's husband stared in surprise before calming down and using the Force to sense her. The ex-Knight sighed in relief when he sensed her Force-signature wasn't Barris'.

"Formerly Darth, now just Maul." the Zabrak replied as he walked up to the three Lightsiders. "Ezra, step away from him!" Kanan warned. "Kanan, I swear he's on our side!" his apprentice argued. "Perhaps my actions will speak louder than words." Maul replied before taking a few steps forward then igniting a double-bladed lightsaber.

The Zabrak took a stance before jumping into the air. As soon as he landed, the ex-Sith slashed the ground, forcing the three Inquisitor to back up before kicking the woman away then engaging the other two.

"What are we waiting for?" Ezra asked as he ignited his blade. Despite his words none of them moved and instead simply watched Maul duel the Inquisitors. "Why would you come here?" the female asked after rejoining the fight.

"He knows of the artifact!" the second male growled before attempting to attack the Zabrak. Figuring they might need his help, Revan quickly moved before locking blades with him while his wife locked sabers with the first male.

"The holocron, do you have it?" the first demanded to the ex-Sith. "You will find out soon enough." he replied ominously before the three drove the Inquisitor's back. "Fall back!" the woman ordered before they jumped into the air and used their saber to fly away.

"That is still dumb." the ex-Knight scoffed before his wife addressed the Zabrak. "Maul, what game are you playing?" she asked as the four adults still had their lightsabers on. "I am the enemy of your enemy now, and I have my own reasons for wanting the Empire to fall. But we have little time. The one they call Vader will be here soon." he replied.

A conflicted look crossed Revan's face when Maul mentioned Vader. The ex-Knight felt sick to his stomach at the thought of fighting his best friend. "How do you know this?" Kanan asked the ex-Sith before the four sheathed their blades and he turned to face them.

"His dogs will tell him where we are. Two Jedi and and two 'part timers.' Oh, he will come. He will not be able to resist us." Maul replied. "Okay, hold on, there is no "us." Dealing with Inquisitors is one thing, Vader is another. And I'm not convinced we're all on the same side anyway." the older Jedi said, a tone of distrust in his voice.

"Kanan, we should trust him. Uh, look! He and I took this from the temple together! This is why we came here, right? To find out about the Sith. To find a way to beat them. Ahsoka, you said we came here for knowledge." the kid said while showing them a Sith holocron.

"Cool. I've always wanted to collect one of those." the Togruta's husband said with a smile before she smacked him on the arm scoldingly and with a frown. "Ezra, there is no way a Jedi can unlock that holocron." she said to the teenager as her husband rubbed his arm.

"But you may unlock the temple itself." Maul suggested as the kid turned to face him. "How? Tell me how." he replied. "At the top of the temple is a chamber. Connect the holocron to the obelisk within and you can unlock the ancient knowledge of the Sith." he explained before taking a few steps passed them

"Why are you working so hard to keep us here?" Ahsoka questioned. "I cannot defeat Vader alone." he replied. "I say we stay with him." Ezra said. "Yeah? Well, I say we go, so that settles it." Kanan replied before the Zabrak scoffed and turned to face them.

"Are you such cowards that you would run from this chance to defeat your enemies? Who slaughter your friends?" he questioned. "Kanan?" his apprentice asked before the man looked at the couple who nodded at him.

The older Jedi sighed before grabbing his comlink. "Chopper, we're staying for a while." he informed before the droid warbled. "Yeah, I know it's a bad idea. Just scan for incoming ships, and keep the Phantom out of sight." he replied before getting a warble in reply as Maul walked up to him.

"Oh, how exciting. We're all on the same side." he said in mock cheerfulness. "Just show us how to get to the top, and hurry." the older Jedi replied impatiently. "This way." the Zabrak said while walking off as the other four followed their new ally.

* * *

A few minutes later the group came upon one of the corners to the temple. "Now what?" Kanan asked impatiently before Maul placed a hand on the wall beside the corner. The group then watched as the corner descended to the ground.

"Wow." the kid said in awe before he and the ex-Sith stepped on to it. "Only two. No more, no less." he said after stopping the older Jedi from joining them. "Yeah? Well, these two come as a set." he replied before moving Maul off and taking his place beside his Padawan.

"You okay riding with Grandpa?" he asked the couple. "We'll be fine." Ahsoka replied and Revan nodded before the ex-Sith activated the lift. The three watched the them go up before Maul started leading the other two to a different corner.

As they walked, Maul suddenly struck up a conversation with the other man. "Tell me something. Have you ever questioned your parentage?" he questioned the ex-Knight frowned. "No. Why?" he asked before the Zabrak chuckled.

"Hold on. If you tell me you're my father, I'll kill you." he said with a glare before Maul chuckled again. "Oh, no. Not me. But I believe I might have met him, you're Force-signature is quite similar to another man's I met a long time ago." he explained as Revan stared at the ground in thought and Ahsoka gave her husband a concerned look.

_'He could be lying, but he could also be telling the truth...' _Before he could question Maul further, the three finally reached the other corner before the Darksider lowered the lift. "I'll get up myself." he said before Force-jumping all the way up.

* * *

Revan stood deep in thought for about a minute before hearing the sound of lightsabers clashing. Before the ex-Knight was about to go help whoever was in trouble, his wife and Maul finally reached the top. "Someone's in trouble." he informed them before the three ignited their blades and followed him.

"Ezra!" Maul exclaimed as they say him dangling over the side while the first Inquisitor turned to face them with his saber ready. The Zabrak traded a few blows with him before Force-pushing the other Darksider off the side.

Unfortunately the man used his spinning saber to fly to safety. Once he was gone, the ex-Sith helped Ezra back onto the temple while the couple checked on Kanan. the five walked over to each other before hearing sabers whirring and looked up to see two of the Inquisitors flying above.

"Looks like they've figured out your plan." the older Jedi said to Maul. "Then we shall alter it. I recommend that we split up and scale the Pyramid from two sides. They will also have to divide their forces." he replied. "And let me guess, Ezra goes with you? No, thanks." Kanan replied with a small glare.

"It is the logical choice." the ex-Sith replied. "I say we split up. Trust me." the Padawan said in agreement with Maul before his master sighed in defeat. "Excellent, excellent. You will find another lift on the far side, we will meet again on the next terrace." the Zabrak explained as he and the kid stepped onto the lift before the former activated it.

"He'll be fine." Ahsoka reassured the Jedi. "Yeah? How do you know that?" he questioned. "Because you taught him." she replied with a smile before the three made their way to another lift.

* * *

Once they reached the lift, Revan suddenly stopped his wife from getting on with Kanan. "You go on up. We need to talk privately." he said to the Jedi before activating the lift. As he turned back to his wife, he could see the tears building up. "Don't say it." she said, her voice shaking. "Ahsoka..." he said gently but firmly before she embraced him.

"If something happens today... Then I want you to know the past seventeen years have been the happiest of my life. I know I was gone for five of those but I still thought about you every day. I love you so much Ahsoka..." he said softly while resting his head on top of hers.

"I love you too..." she replied just as softly before they reluctantly ended the hug. Once he gently wiped her tears and tear stains off, the couple stepped onto the lift before he activated it.

* * *

The two reached the top just in time to help Kanan with the second Inquisitor. As they traded blows with him, the first one soon joined in and started to duel the Jedi while the couple held off the second.

_'Someone killed the female.' _Revan realized as he drove the second back while his wife and Kanan focused on the other one now. A few minutes passed while they fought before Maul suddenly joined in and started driving the two Inquisitors back.

The three Lightsiders rejoined before the couple charged the second and managed the destroy his lightsaber. The man looked down in horror before the Zabrak suddenly stabbed him in the stomach.

The couple and ex-Sith watched his corpse hit the ground before turning their attention to Kanan and the last Inquisitor. The two traded a few more blows before the Jedi managed to damage his hilt.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, the man tried fleeing with his spinning saber. Unfortunately for him, the saber was too badly damaged and almost immediately fell apart, effectively sending the screaming man to his plummeting death. _'Didn't that idiot know you can use the Force to cushion your fall?' _Revan wondered with a raised brow.

He, his wife and Kanan then turned to Maul who's back was currently turned towards them. "Where's Ezra?" the Jedi asked him. "You mean, my apprentice?" he replied before suddenly turning around and slashing the other man in the eye while simultaneously knocking the other two away.

"Kanan!" the couple exclaimed in concern as he fell to his hands and knees. The couple quickly recovered in time to stop the ex-Sith from trying to kill the Jedi. "My apprentice is activating the temple, or more precisely, this battle station, which I shall use to exact my revenge on all my enemies!" Maul growled.

* * *

As the couple once again dueled the renegade Sith for the first time in sixteen years, the three combatants soon stopped to look at the beam of red light shooting out of the the temple and through a hole leading to the surface.

Once the beam stopped Maul turned back to face his enemies. "The power will be mine! Ezra will be mine, and there is nothing you can do to stop me." he snarled before attacking them again.

Revan went for an overhead slash while his wife went for and underhand one before they noticed Kanan behind the Zabrak and backflipped away.

"Running away again, Revan, Lady Tano?" he taunted. "I seem to recall you being the one who ran, but..." Revan started with a smirk before his wife mirrored it. "If you want to finish our fight, you'll have to deal with him first." she finished while gesturing to the Jedi wearing an old temple guard helmet.

"Go get Ezra!" he said before the couple turned and ran up the steps.

* * *

Revan swallowed thickly as he saw his friend standing over the terrified defenceless teen. "Perhaps I was wrong." Vader taunted as he raised his blade to strike Ezra down.

"It wouldn't be the first time." Ahsoka called out to him. The Sith Lord slowly turned to face his former friends. "It was foretold that you would both be here. Our long-awaited meeting has come at last." he replied. "I'm glad we gave you something to look forward to." she said, a bit of her old snippiness in her tone as the Sith extinguished his blade.

"We need not be adversaries. The Emperor will show you mercy if you tell me where the remaining Jedi can be found." he offered. "There are no Jedi. You and your Inquisitors have seen to that." she snapped.

"Perhaps this child will confess what you will not." he threatened while looking at and gesturing to Ezra. "I was beginning to believe I knew who you were behind that mask, but it's impossible. Our friend could _never_ be as vile as you." she spat with a glare before he turned back to face them.

"Anakin Skywalker was weak. I destroyed him." Darth Vader coldly declared.

"Then I will avenge his death." she stated darkly. "Revenge is not the Jedi way." he chided mockingly. "I am no Jedi." she declared as former Master and Apprentice activated their blades before the former rushed him.

As much as his brain was screaming at him to help her, the ex-Knight couldn't bring himself to willingly fight his friend for real. Revan let out a shaky breathe as he watched his wife duck under Vader's slash before Force-pushing him away then following up with a jump and bringing her sabers down.

Once she flipped over him, the Sith Lord immediately went on the offensive and started driving her back. The ex-Knight let out another shaky breathe before following them.

* * *

Revan watched in fear as Vader continued driving Ahsoka back along the side of the temple before the two ended up in a saberlock that she struggled against. The Sith Lord soon broke before attacking her two more times then Force-pushing her off the side.

"Ahsoka!" he exclaimed in horror before looking over the side and sighing in relief when he saw that she was unharmed. "Are you going to feebly attempt to avenge Skywalker like your wife and son?" Vader's voice broke him out of his staring before he turned to face his friend.

The ex-Knight stared sadly at the floor before slowly shaking his head. "I can't... You saved me from Korriban... I owe both you and Ahsoka so much... I couldn't even hurt her when she was infected by the Son... Just kill me and get it over with..." he said quietly.

The Sith just stood there quietly for a moment, his respirator and the wind howling from the activated temple, the only sound you could hear. "There's no pleasure in killing an opponent as _pathetic_ as you." he spat before turning and heading back towards the inside of the temple.

* * *

The young man just continued to stare at the ground in thought after the Dark Lord left. _'Maybe I should just jump over the side and get it over with...' _he thought before walking over to the ledge.

As he looked over the edge while contemplating jumping, the ex-Knight suddenly noticed his wife making her way up the steps nearby. _'Ahsoka... I'm sorry...' _Revan looked over the side once more before closing his eyes...

_Fine. Ahsoka, you?_

_Skywalker, but you can call me Anakin._

_I know you will. You've never broken a promise to me before and I know you won't start now._

_I'm not sure if we'll ever see each other again. So if we don't, I want you to know you're the bestest friend a guy could ask for._

Revan abruptly snapped out of his memories while panting heavily. "What the hell am I doing?! Anakin and Ahsoka were always there for me. I didn't fully realize that until now. I know exactly what I need to do now, and that's be there for them. Even if it means having to beat some sense into a certain best friend of mine." he spoke with determination.

* * *

The ex-Knight ran up to his wife before dropping to one knee in front of her. "Ahsoka!" the heard a voice say before turning their attention to the downed Vader. "Ahsoka..." he said after turning to them and exposing his right eye while his voice sounded like his old one, only mechanical. "Guys! Come on, hurry!" Ezra exclaimed urgently.

"Anakin..." she said softly before her husband helped her stand. "I won't leave you, not this time." she spoke with determination. Their former friend looked at them in thought before his exposed yellow eye glared at them. "Then you will die." he declared coldly before activating his lightsaber and advancing upon them.

Revan removed his mask before looking at it for a moment then dropping it on ground. The man turned his determined gaze to the Sith Lord before charging and clashing blades with him while his wife Force-pushed the young Jedi out of the temple before it closed.

The ex-Knight ducked under a slash before retaliating a series of stabs that the Sith had some difficulty blocking. "What's wrong old man? Getting tired?" he taunted his former friend.

The Dark Lord glared at him with his exposed eye before attempting to bring his saber down. The other man sidestepped the strike before Force-pushing his former friend. "So, have I beat enough sense into you yet?" he questioned before blocking another slash with both sabers.

A brief moment passed before the Sith Lord broke the lock then retreated a few feet back. "I doesn't have to be this way, Anakin... You can still-" right before he was abruptly cut off, Revan had faintly heard his wife screaming his name in horror before he looked down...

...and saw a white lightsaber protruding from his chest...

Revan looked back up and smiled weakly to his old friend. "There is good in you..." he said softly before the Sith was suddenly launched at least thirty feet away by a massive Force Push.

The younger man felt the saber slowly being pulled out before his legs gave out from mortal wound. Ahsoka quickly caught her husband's body before she fell to her knees. cradling him.

Tears ran down her face as she held dying husband... "It's... It's too late..." he said weakly. "No!" she sobbed before he slowly reached up to her face with his mechanical arm and gently wiped a tear away with his index finger.

"Take care of Anakin for me... Tell him... tell him I'm sorry and... that I love him..." he managed to say before weakly turning his head look her directly in the eyes. "I'm so sorry... I kept so many... secrets from you... I didn't mean too, I just..." he trailed off as his eye fluttered weakly.

"I love you, Ahsoka..." he whispered his eyes foggy. "I love you, too..." she whispered back. The descendant of Revan smiled gently one more time before closing his eyes and never opening them again...

* * *

_Atollon,__ rebel base:_

Tears ran down Anakin's face as he and the others rushed towards the shuttle as it landed before only Ezra and Kanan exited it. Sabine quickly pulled her boyfriend into comforting embrace before he started to cry on her shoulder.

The Mandalorian girl gently stroked his neck as he clung on tighter and shook from the sobs. "I'm here... I'm here..." she whispered while tightening her embrace as he kept crying.

Even as the sun set, the young woman continued to provide comfort for the man she loved as he silently mourned his parents...

**I uh... I honestly don't know what to say...**


End file.
